Twelve
by Seize the Rain
Summary: After a cruel experiment, a young chimera is sent on a mission to kill a State Alchemist. She's never left the lab before. What happens when the assassination takes a turn? EdxOC. Rated T for some language.
1. Set Free

**This is my first uploaded fic. Huh. I've been around on FanFiction for a while, but I've never gotten to creating an account. So, this is pretty much the first time I've ever had feedback from people I don't know. **

**This takes place after Lab 5 blows up in Brotherhood *I love the first series too*. Please read and review!**

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><p>I was alone now. Subject 11 was gone.<p>

They took him away about an hour ago, and then the screaming came. All I could hear was him screaming like he was being ripped to pieces. Knowing the people at the lab, he probably was. I wouldn't be surprised if, when they pulled me in next, there were bits of him all over the floor.

I shuddered and curled up in a ball, the cold floor of the crate doing me no justice. Ever since we moved from Lab 5, things had gotten worse. They threw us in crates and secretly shipped us out to the basement of Lab 4. As if our quarters in 5 weren't bad enough, now we were in crates. Or, should I say, _I _was in a crate.

The scientists had become more frantic with their cruel experiments since we transferred to 4. All of the others had been taken away one by one, and we could only hear their screams. They were never seen again. We were a tough bunch of kids who had lived together for our whole lives, but knowing that one of us would be the next ones to go was too much. Most of us cracked before we were taken. But not me.

Not yet.

I am Subject 12.

I've been at Lab 5 since I was born, along with eleven other kids. Six boys and six girls. We were experimented on to test genetic enhancements. Most of us ended up as chimera. I'm part hawk, which does indeed mean that I have wings. Subject 11 was part monkey, so he was very flexible and nimble.

They not only put us through horrible experiments, but they made us train as well. We were taught many forms of combat: firearms, hand-to-hand, sword fighting, the list goes on. They also taught us alchemy. I didn't know why it was such a big deal in this country, and I still don't.

This went on for fifteen years. I've lost count of the experiments and the amount of scars I have from various injections. It sucked.

Our lives had been okay for a bunch of chimera tortured by evil scientists before they had moved us to Lab 4. The scientists had gotten desperate and began to make their experiments more dangerous. Once every two days, a subject was taken away and experimented on. None of them came back. Ever.

Subject 11 was the last one. I was next.

So, there I was, stuck in a dark room with 11 empty cages and another filled with me. They didn't have much room, so I was crouched over most of the time. My back was killing me. I hadn't eaten in a few days. They'd given me water, though. They needed me alive, but apparently just barely.

I looked at my arm. One word was scrawled on it, barely readable in the darkness. _Taka._ Hawk. A reminder of how abnormal I was. They tattooed it onto my skin after I was fused with the poor animal. Every time I was told to use my wings, the word burned like fire.

So I waited.

The two days passed, but I wasn't scared. Some of the others had been, but I wasn't. Maybe this was how they all felt, with those serene looks on their faces as they were brought to their deaths. They all had that look on their face. It was like, _Sure, death. Come at me. I'll kick your ass._

When the scientists came, they unlocked my crate and pulled the door open. One was holding a plate of food, which I looked at eagerly. I hoped it was for me.

"Subject Twelve!" one barked. "Stand up!" I crawled out of the crate and stood, straight backed. I could tell they were observing me, even in the dim light.

_That's right, you bastards. I'm here, and I'm going to live._ I smirked, hoping that they couldn't see. One held the food out to me, and I scarfed it down without a second thought.

"Eat, Twelve. You need to be strong." They urged. As if I wasn't going to eat the food. When I was done, they led me down the hall, where all of the other subjects went. I swallowed hard, but my mouth stayed dry. What were they going to do to me?

Finally, we entered a room. It was big, but with a low ceiling. Several other scientists stood in clusters around a large array. In the center, there was a great black wolf, lying unconscious. I saw a flash of red at its stomach. Blood, maybe? But what would these people want with a dead wolf?

"You had better survive this." A cold voice said from beside me. I turned to face its owner, a tall man in a toga. The light made him look like he was completely white. He had long hair and a thick beard, and eyes that seemed to look right into my soul.

Sounds crazy, I know, but that's the only way to describe them.

I swallowed again, beginning to sweat in this man's presence. "You're the only one left, and if you die, I'll be left without a powerful soldier. You must survive. Do you understand?" He leaned forward until he was only inches away from me.

"Y-yes." I nodded vigorously.

He pulled back. "Good. Go to the beast." I nodded again, and walked to the wolf. It wasn't dead, just sedated. The flash of red had been a small stone that lay near its stomach. I crouched down beside it and ran a hand through its fur. It was only then did I notice the blood on the walls and floor.

There was a bright flash of light and pain exploded everywhere. I screamed and the wolf was suddenly awake, howling as loud as it could. I knew the feeling- they were transmuting the wolf and I together to make a new being.

_It hurts! It hurts so much! I'm going to die!_ I couldn't say the words because I was screaming so much. I was scared now. Really scared. Terrified.

Everything went black.

I woke up in a pool of my own blood and the wolf's, panting. Everything seemed more in perspective, especially the smells. I could smell the excitement of the scientists and even the distant fear of the other subjects. The most overpowering smell was that of the blood, though.

The transmutation had been successful. I was now one-third wolf.

The scientists were chattering excitedly about the new breakthrough. I, on the other hand, wasn't excited at all.

"It worked!"

"Our first double! Father will be so pleased!"

"I can't wait to get the results of her first mission!"

I didn't have the energy to move, so I looked down at my arm, which was in considerably more pain than the rest of my body. It was swollen with a new tattoo. _Ookami, _it read. Wolf. I then cast my sight around the room. The strange man who had assaulted me earlier was gone.

"Twelve! Up!" someone ordered. I groaned, unable to move. Someone came over and lifted me to my feet. I barely managed a stand.

"We have a mission for you." A scientist said in a sugary-sweet voice that only irritated me.

"I'm... too tired." I moaned.

"It's either this or the drills." I winced. Not the drills. The drills were basically just hours on end of showing and retracting our various protrusions and growths. In my case, I had to sprout and retract my wings. There was always blood every time, but no scars were left behind. Just a big red area on my shoulders that never goes away.

"Good." He sneered. "Now, I want you to do something outside for me. I want you to kill the Fullmetal Alchemist." I knew about State Alchemists. They were just military dogs. Why did they want one dead?

"Kill... the Fullmetal Alchemist?" I blinked. "How am I supposed to know who he is?"

"Just look for this." He held out a piece of paper. On it, there was a strange symbol: a cross with a snake writhing around it. Two wings hovered above the cross and between them was a crown. "You can't miss him, anyway." I nodded tiredly. "And we're even giving you some new clothes." He handed me a bundle: a baggy gray t-shirt and a pair of tight black shorts. They led me out of the room and I changed quickly. The shorts were a little longer than they were supposed to be on a normal person, but it didn't matter. I was shorter than normal anyway. I had to be, considering the structure of my body made it easier to fly. Hollow boned and small, I was ready to take off.

The scientists ushered me out into a back alley, where I stood for a moment in a daze. I was so tired, and I knew that I had to complete my mission of they would just come for me. I quickly came to my senses and started at a brisk run through the streets of Central. I would get a better view of the city from on top of a building, so I quickly scampered up a ladder and stood atop a tall building.

It didn't take long for my raptor vision to pick something out. There were two people, a boy in a red coat with long blonde hair tied back into a braid, and a man in a suit of armour. What caught my eye was the symbol on the man's shoulder: it was exactly the same as the one that the scientists showed me. "Fullmetal Alchemist" seemed like a pretty apt title for a man in a suit of armour.

I forced my wings out and felt the blood trickle down my back. All thirteen feet of them were tucked neatly behind me to prepare for a dive off the building. I had talons, too, and I forced them out of my fingers. Blood dripped to the floor as they came out, but now they looked more like the curved claws of a wolf than the talons of a hawk.

I don't mean to brag, but I think I looked pretty damn cool.

I leapt off the top of the building and descended at top speed. As I got closer, I extended my wings a bit to catch the air and slow down. I landed right on the man's shoulders with his head between my knees.

"Die, Fullmetal Alchemist!" I hissed. He let out an undignified yell that definitely did not sound in any way like a man's. Ignoring the thought that he sounded like a little boy, I punched his helmet off and got ready to slash at his throat.

Now it was my turn to let out a yell. There was nothing inside the armour. I was so startled that I fell off, wincing as I hit the ground hard. My whole body felt like a giant bruise.

"_I'm_ the Fullmetal Alchemist, damn it!" the boy in the red coat yelled, trying to punch me. I rolled out of the way, trying to kick his legs out from under him as I went, but I couldn't knock him over. There was a loud clang as I hit his right leg, and I let out another yell, this one of pain. His leg was made of metal.

I sprang to my feet and jumped backwards. The suit of armour came at me, but the red-coat held him back.

"I'll take care of her, Al." He smirked and clapped his hands. There was blue light and one of the gloves he was wearing shredded as a blade poked out from it. Shocked, my eyes widened as I dodged his first strike. His arm was also made of metal. I countered, lashing out so fast and so many times that he could only dodge. After a while, I jumped back just for a second to catch my breath. I wouldn't last much longer if I was already worn out. Then I went at him again with the rapid attacks. He still couldn't counter me.

After a while of this, a grin spread across his face. "You know, you're pretty good at this for a girl." He smirked, and I glared at him. "But your style does have a flaw." I was about ready to leap backwards again, but he kept talking. "Every twentieth strike," he lunged forward, "you have to move back!"

Everything happened so fast in that one second that I could barely understand what happened. He had already come into the swing by the time he finished speaking so I had almost no time to dodge. I moved back and pushed off the ground with enough force to take off, but his blade still clipped me in the side. Blood sprayed the ground as I hovered in the air a few feet above their heads.

"Wha-what the hell?" the Fullmetal Alchemist gasped. While he was in shock about my wings, I was thinking: _That's the second time I've escaped death today._

I grabbed my side with one arm, applying pressure so to stop the bleeding, and swept in to deliver a kick that would have broken anyone's skull. He grabbed my foot and twisted me around, slamming me downwards so that I landed on my back. One of my wings broke painfully, but I didn't shout. My problem then was that he was coming at me with a swing from his arm blade. My eyes widened as I rolled onto my broken wing and out of the way. He froze for a second as he saw my terror. I wound up for a punch as I got to my feet, but someone grabbed my wrist.

"No no no," they said in a motherly tone. "You aren't supposed to _kill_ the Fullmetal Pipsqueak. We only said to _capture _him. I suppose you heard us wrong." I turned around frantically and looked into the eyes of a pale man with long black hair that spouted over a headband, making him look rather like a palm tree. "Do you understand now, girl?" I nodded rapidly and he tightened his grip on my arm. My wrist broke so badly that the bones punched right through the skin. It hurt like you wouldn't believe, but I didn't flinch or cry out.

"Envy!" Fullmetal shouted. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Just passing through, pipsqueak." He smirked and let go of me. I had no choice but to let it hang by my side. "See you around." He walked off, wiggling his fingers in an odd wave. I watched him leave, not really sure what to do.

"...get her to a hospital!" The armoured boy, Al, was arguing. I must have zoned out a little while they started the argument.

"Are you kidding? She just tried to kill us, Al! And now you want to take her to a hospital?"

"Can't you see that she had no idea what she was doing? I mean, look at her!"

"Would you mind not talking about me like I'm not here? I've heard too much of that." I turned to face them and the slash on my side throbbed so painfully that I was on my knees. The adrenaline was gone and the pain was incredible.

"See?" Al said triumphantly. "I told you a hospital would be a good idea."

"Don't... send me to a hospital. That's the last thing I need." I panted. "They'll just send me back to the lab once they find out who I am." I dragged myself over to where a piece of wood was sitting on the ground and broke it to splinters in one quick punch. I ripped off a strip of my shirt to hold the makeshift splint in place. I went to set the bones in my wrist but, as soon as I touched them, I passed out from the pain.

"_Uuuuuuuugggghhhh_!" I groaned so loudly that my voice cracked. What did the scientists do this time? I tried to roll over, surprised at the amount of space in my crate. Instead, I slid right off something and hit the floor, hard. I clutched the large gash on my side and gritted my teeth.

Oh, yeah. I had just tried to assassinate the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"She's awake!" declared the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Are you okay?" came Al's voice. I groaned in response. He came over and tried to help me up, but I dodged him and got to my feet.

"S-sorry. Just instinct." I muttered, cradling my wrist. "How long have I been out?" I asked my normal question, usually directed at Subject 11.

"Two days." Fullmetal said. I looked down at my wrist, now a bloody, swollen, misshapen mess. I moved it next to my wrist and studied the proper alignment of the bones. Sighing, I proceeded to set the bones. Usually, it was a leg that was broken, so setting with one hand was much harder.

"Um, shouldn't you get a doctor to do that?" Al asked.

"Doctor?" I repeated as I set my ulna, tears coming to my eyes at the pain. "I'm fine by myself." Al let out a nervous laugh. I ripped off another piece of my shirt and tried it around the holes in my skin where the bones came through. I flexed my wing -which hadn't retracted, unlike my new claws- and discovered, to my chagrin, that it was broken as well. There was no way I was going to be able to set that without help.

I turned to face Al and the alchemist, sitting on my knees. Fullmetal was glaring at me, his gold eyes intense. _He's sizing me up. I've seen this before. Every time a new scientist arrived at 5, they did the same thing._

"Well, go on, then. Are you going to kill me or what?" I asked. Both of them looked startled by my words. Maybe they expected something else. I folded my wings behind my back as I waited for an answer.

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Al questioned awkwardly.

I though over my answer for a second. "Subject Twelve."

"So you _are_ a chimera." Fullmetal said thoughtfully. "What did they fuse you with?" My wings flashed out, their tips touching the opposite walls of the room. My right wing, the broken one, ached when I did so.

"Hawk." I replied. "And wolf."

"_Two_ transmutations?" Al said, astounded.

"Only yesterday. I've been part hawk for a while, but they fused me with a wolf just yesterday."

"A walking, talking chimera." Al reasoned, still looking like he didn't believe what he'd heard.

"Enough about me. Who are you?" I inquired.

"Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. This is my brother Al." Fullmetal said flatly. "Why did you try to kill us?"

"Why aren't you trying to kill me?" I retorted.

"Because you're human. I can't kill another human." Edward explained.

"You really think I'm human? After spending all of my fifteen years being experimented on in Lab Five, you still consider me human? I guess I should say that's nice, but I honestly don't know what to make of it." I said."I was ordered to kill you by the people who turned me into what I am. The scientists at Four told me to kill the Fullmetal Alchemist or they'd..." I trailed off, shuddering at the thought.

"Wait a minute," Edward held up a hand. "You just said you were in Lab Five, then you said Lab Four."

"They moved us from Lab Five about-" I stopped to count "-three and a half weeks ago. Then they... Oh my god, that's what they were trying to do." They were trying to turn the other subjects into double-chimeras, like me. And they hadn't survived...

"What is it, er, Subject Twelve?" Al asked.

"They killed them all. They were trying to..." The tears of pain I'd been holding back now spilled over as tears of sadness. "The scientists were trying to turn the other subjects into double chimeras, like me."

"There were more of you?" Edward asked. I nodded meekly.

"And they all died in the process." Al concluded. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright. I'm glad they don't have to suffer anymore." I sniffled and wiped the tears away.

"I guess you were close to those kids."

"We grew up together. We were always there for each other." I said. "They were all really tough, but I'm glad they died. They don't have to go through the experiments anymore." There was a long pause. I looked sadly at the floor and the Elric brothers watched me, not saying anything. Suddenly, Edward stood up, walked over to me, and held out a hand. I gave him a strange look and took it. He pulled me to my feet. Somehow, I was shorter than him.

"Thanks, Edward." I said.

"Call me Ed." He smirked and walked back to his stop on a bed where he was sitting earlier.

"Well," I said with one hand on my hip, "I should probably get going."

"Get going?" Ed objected. "But you're injured!"

"Indeed I am. I've been through worse, trust me." I gave him a sadistic smile and headed for the door. As I reached for the doorknob, something stopped me. Apparently, being fused with a wolf not only gave me claws and an amazing nose, but I had super hearing as well. I could hear footsteps coming from somewhere down the hall. And the smell was that of the scientists of the lab. Alarmed, I dove under the bed that I had rolled off of and pulled a box in front of me.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ed asked, obviously not amused.

"Shut up." I hissed. After a few seconds, the door swung open abruptly.

"You haven't seen a girl with wings around here, have you, Fullmetal Alchemist?" one of them asked. My breath caught in my throat as I waited for Ed's answer.

"Wings?" I could almost hear the smirk on his lips. "Are you crazy?"

"I suppose she's dead, then." The scientist muttered. Then, so that any normal human could barely hear, "Father won't be pleased." I heard the door close and waited for the footsteps to completely disappear. That was when I came out from under the bed.

"That," I declared, "was way to close."

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><p><strong>So, what did you think? Tell me in the reviews! (hint hint)<strong>


	2. Escaping the Elrics

**Woah, this took longer than I thought. I meant to have this up by Easter Monday, but my life has been hectic. Sorry XD I wrote this while listening to the FMA Brotherhood soundtrack (Akira Senju is a GENIUS). Yes, I do love orchestra XD**

**Anyway, thanks for all the reviews (a whopping total of four). I really appreciate it. And yes, Bankai the Moon, I know it's you. I _know._**

**There are a couple of things I forgot to mention/do in the last chapter. This is an EdxOC story, because I love messing up poor little Ed's feelings. There will also be several long gaps in this story which I will fill up with just a mention of how much time has passed. Another thing I forgot to do is the disclaimer.**

**I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or it's characters. I DO own Twelve and any other characters that I make up in the process of this story.**

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><p>"Do you have a bath? Or a shower, maybe?" I asked after a few moments of awkward silence.<p>

"Yes." Ed answered slowly.

"Good. I'm using it." I announced and flounced off.

"Wha-" I cut the alchemist off as I slammed the door. I felt disgusting. I hadn't bathed in over three weeks, since the transfer to 4, and I really needed to do so. At 5, they'd at least let us bathe and eat a little, but since we moved, they pretty much stopped it. We spent most of our time stuck in tiny crates, except when they took us out for experimentation.

I flipped the hot water tap on and took a look at myself in the mirror as I waited for the tub to fill. I don't remember ever looking at myself in a proper mirror my whole life. I had long black hair that I hacked off occasionally with a knife and brown eyes with huge pupils that resembled a hawk's. I was really skinny, too, considering the fact that I'd only ever had just enough food to keep me alive.

I soaked in the bath for a while. So long, in fact, that Ed had to knock on the door and ask if I'd drowned. Smirking, I told him that I was fine and proceeded to get out. I put my ripped clothes back on and marched outside.

"Okay, so can I leave _now_?" I asked. It was more of a request than anything.

"I don't think you want to go back out there. Those people were after you, and I'm pretty sure they weren't bringing you to a picnic." Ed said, giving me a look with sarcasm written all over it.

"I figured that much." I muttered and sat down ungracefully on the bed I woke up on. "So, when can I leave?"

"Why do you want to leave so badly?" Al asked.

"I don't know, maybe I want to enjoy the only freedom I've ever had in my life." I retorted. Al looked stung. Well, as stung as a suit of armour can look. "Well, while I'm here, I might as well ask how you got like that. An empty suit of armour and two metal limbs? What did you do?"

The two brothers looked at each other, silently making a decision. After a few seconds, they nodded and looked back at me.

"We tried to bring our mother back from the dead." Al spoke and his voice wavered a little. "Brother lost his leg, and I lost my whole body."

"I sacrificed my arm to anchor Al's soul to that armour." Ed pulled up his sleeve a little, revealing his metal arm. "My mechanic fitted me with automail when I was ten."

"And I thought I had it bad." I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. "I won't pry anymore. Even though I was raised in a lab, I still have feelings and I can tell when somebody doesn't want to say something."

"Thank you." Al said.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did they fuse you with...?" Ed trailed off, looking at my wings.

"I don't really know." I admitted. "But, both times, there was a small red stone there, though." A grin spread across Ed's face as he looked at his brother.

"You mean a Philosopher's Stone?" Al questioned.

"Yeah." I nodded, recalling the alchemical term. "That was it. You guys are looking for one?"

"We want to use it to get our bodies back. But..." Al looked a little disturbed. "The main ingredient in a Stone is human souls."

"Too bad Lab Five was destroyed." I sympathized. "I'd happily steal one of the stones for you guys." The boys both slumped over, groaning with defeat. "Lab Five was important to you guys, obviously."

"We had a huge lead there." Al explained, now recovered from his momentary depression. "I don't suppose you could tell us anything about it?"

"Well, I don't remember much except the room I was in when I slept, and the room where they conducted experiments. There were several of those." I tilted my head sideways in thought. Ed looked up at me hopefully. "I only ever really came in contact with the other eleven chimeras, but I did see some strange figures walking around a couple times."

"Like what?" Ed asked eagerly.

"There were a few suits of armour. Like you, Al, I think." I tried recalling more memories. "And... there were a lot of really weird things there. I mean, weird even by my standards. That's all I can really tell you." The brothers looked disappointed, but didn't show it too openly.

"So, how are you going to live now that you're out of the lab?" Al asked. "You've got no home, no money, and you're injured."

"Al, don't even think about it." Ed shot his brother a look.

"I'll manage. I've lived until now, right? I'm sure I'll be fine once you let me out of this room." I hoped they'd take the hint, but they seemed to be in the middle of a telepathic brother-battle. I watched with mild interest for a few seconds until they broke each other's gaze.

"You can-"

"You can't stay." Ed cut Al off. "As much as we really want to help you-" there was no mistaking the sarcasm in those few words "-we can't afford to have you as a burden."

"Brother," Al complained.

"But," Ed continued, "we'll give you some money so you can get a life."

"Gee, _thanks,_ but you could have said that without the sarcasm. I'll be fine on my own." I said. "You can keep your money."

"Take it."

"I told you, I'm fine."

Ed coughed indignantly and looked over at Al. I got the fact that he didn't want to look like the bad guy in front of his brother and diligently took the hint.

"All right, I'll take the freaking money." I sighed. "But can I go now? Seriously. I'd like to enjoy the world a bit before the scientists come after me."

"Won't you be in danger though?" Al asked.

"I've been in danger my whole life. I'd rather be dead right now, but you can trust the fact that I won't kill myself." I smirked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm out of here." I stood and begun to walk, but Ed quickly reminded me of the money by sticking out his foot and tripping me as I passed him. I turned around, glaring, as he handed me a wad of bills.

"That should be enough to keep you alive for a couple of months." He said.

"Well, thanks for the hospitality. It's the most I've ever gotten in my life." I said. "Speaking of lives, I owe you mine. If you ever need a favour, I'll be in Central."

"You're welcome, uh, Twelve." Al said. I could tell he thought my "name" was awkward to say.

"See you guys some other time, I guess." I my hand touched the doorknob and I turned it, but was cut off by Al.

"Are you going to go out with those wings?" he asked curiously.

I turned around and laughed nervously. "Oh, yeah. About that... I kind of broke one of my wings when I was fighting you and it's bad if I pull them in when they're injured. They don't heal properly." Ed let out an explosive sigh and put his face in his hands. He wanted me out.

"_Why_ didn't you just set it when you set your wrist?" he muttered.

"I can't reach." I said nervously. "Ha ha." I bent my wing as far forward as I could just to prove it to them. "I guess I'll have to fix that." I walked back to the bed and sat down again. Ed came over and I indicated where it was broken. He proceeded to set it, jerking the wing a few times as he tried to get the bone in place.

"You're a horrible doctor." I told him as he finally set it. "Ow! You could be a bit more gentle, you know."

"I can't help it if I've never done it to someone else before!" he objected. "It's not like Al has any bones to break." The younger Elric hung his head a little, and Ed's face fell. I assumed that this didn't happen a lot between them.

"Okay, I'm off." I pulled my wings into my back and stood. I could feel a bit of blood trickling downwards, but I ignored it. "Good bye, and thanks again."

"You're bleeding." Al reminded me lightly. The blood must have soaked through my shirt.

"I'm not staying, Al. I can't stay." I sighed and turned the knob.

"She's not a kitten, Al." Ed told his brother.

"We can't just let an injured girl with no home go off on her own. It's not right!" Al said stubbornly.

"Okay, _fine._ She can stay the night." Ed gave in with another sigh.

"Um, I never agreed to this." I piped up.

"I wouldn't turn down the hospitality if I were you." Ed said. "You probably won't get much any other time." I rolled my eyes and walked over to the bed _again._ I crossed one leg over the other and rested my chin in my hands. There were a few minutes of silence where we all just stared at each other. My eyes flickered back and forth between the two brothers until I finally snapped and flopped onto my back.

"Aren't you going to get some rest?" Al asked after a while.

"I can't sleep." I said. "I'm always up at this time of day so my body's used to being awake. I won't be able to fall asleep."

"Oh." He said. "So, you seem to know a lot about alchemy."

"Mmm hm. They taught us in the lab. I'm a pretty good fighter for my size, too. They taught us a lot of stuff." I recalled. "And I'd rather not know most of it. But, hey, it'll help me manage once I get out of here." There was no response from Al. I looked over to see him and his brother immersed in reading books.

I sighed loudly and rolled over to face the wall. I laid there until I was bored out of my mind. Usually, I was occupied with pain or exhaustion or hunger most of the time, so having nothing to do was killer. Eventually, I grabbed one of the books that were scattered across the room and flipped through it.

"Hey!" Ed objected.

"Don't you already know this stuff? It's pretty basic alchemy." I said, pausing to read over a section about chemicals. "This was some of the first stuff I learned when they trained me."

"Uh, that book is actually very advanced. Usually only State Alchemists can follow it." Al said, sounding a little confused.

"Hm." I closed the book and flipped it over. "It doesn't seem very complicated. Maybe it's just how I was taught." I shrugged and tossed the book across the room, earning me an annoyed look from Ed. I lay down again and twiddled my thumbs for a while until I couldn't take it anymore. I needed something to do.

"Okay, I'm bored." I announced. The brothers didn't look up from their reading. "Hello?" I picked up a book and whipped it at Ed. It hit him right in the face and knocked him over.

"What the hell?" He glared at me from his position on the floor. "You could've just asked nicely!"

"Well, you don't seem to do that at all. And you weren't paying attention."

"Why didn't you just throw it at Al?"

I frowned. He had me on that one. "He's too cute."

"_What?"_

"You heard me. Even though he's a suit of armour, he's too cute to throw anything at."

"All those years in the lab seem to have worn down your senses! He is not cute at all!"

"Don't even go there!" I grabbed another book and threw it at him hard enough to break his ribcage, but he just held up his automail arm and it glanced off.

"I _will_ go there!"

"Is that a threat? Bring it on, shorty!"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THEY COULD LIVE IN A LIGHTBULB! YOU'RE SHORTER THAN ME ANYWAY!"

"Yeah, well I have a reason! Your growth is just naturally stunted!"

"I. AM. NOT. SHORT!"

"Brother!" Al interrupted. "If you yell any louder, we'll be kicked out of the room." We both glared at him, then at each other. I sat down on my bed, fuming, while Ed picked up a book and continued to read.

_Well, Twelve, you have your entertainment for the day._ I thought. My anger soon simmered and completely disappeared. Ed sent me the occasional glare over the top of his book but eventually got so into his reading that he completely ignored anything that I did.

"Food." I declared after a few hours of excruciating boredom. "I'm starving."

"You sure are fussy." Ed muttered as he flipped a page.

"I'm not at all fussy." I retorted. "I'm just hungry. Can you blame a kid who's barely ever had enough to eat?"

"Whatever."

I sighed. "So Al, what kind of food do you like to eat?"

He looked a little uncomfortable. "I can't really eat. This body won't let me."

"Oh, right. You're hollow. Guess I shouldn't have asked you then." I said. "Can we go or what? Isn't there a restaurant around here somewhere?"

"Probably." Al answered. "Brother, are you ready to go?"

"I'm not going anywhere with her." I kicked him hard in the leg, making sure it was his real one. "What the hell was that for?"

"Come on, Ed." Al sighed. "Let's go."

"But Al, can't you see she's abusive?"

"She's had a rough upbringing. It makes sense that she acts this way. Now, come on." I turned away from the Fullmetal Alchemist with a royal smirk on my face.

Al literally had to drag him out of the room after threatening that he would starve if he didn't come. Then, Ed threw some clothes at my face, demanding that I changed out of what I was wearing. I would have protested that it was fine, but they were ripped, dirty, and covered with blood. I was soon wearing Ed's clothes, not at all discomforted by the fact that they belonged to a boy.

There was a restaurant on the main floor of the hotel. I was so busy marvelling at the fact that I was in a _real restaurant_ (insert elated squeal here) that I nearly tripped Ed, almost sending him into a waiter holding a tray of something steaming.

I honestly couldn't believe the amount of food on the plate I was looking at. It wouldn't look like much to a regular person, but to me it was like a buffet. Al had to tell me to slow down so I didn't choke.

Ed went to bed early that night. Well, earlier than I was used to. I was normally up until nearly midnight and awake in the wee hours of the morning. Early the next day, when Al was out of the room and Ed was asleep, snoring like a bear, I grabbed the money they brothers offered me and slipped out the open window after muttering a word of thanks.

_Hey, I'm free! _I thought as I walked into an alley.

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><p><strong>Review! And let me know if there are any typos or issues with the plot. Thank you anonymous baka for letting me know about the whole leftright automail leg thing. What a fail!**


	3. Running and Running and Shot

**Hooray for quick updates :D I've had some time for writing between play rehearsals. I just did three freaking days of rehearsing my play, Aladdin Junior, over and over again then performing it twice. I still can't get the sparkles out of my hair, and I washed it twice.**

**Now, I'd like to reply to a review (sort of) in the author's note because it's kinda important. An anonymous reviewer said that Twelve doesn't have the attitude of someone who has been brought up in a torturous environment (or something along those lines.) THANKS SO MUCH FOR SAYING THAT. I'd like to point out a few not-so-obvious/not said yet things. Twelve is generally a cocky, confident, and sort of brave person. And, there's something you'll read about in this chapter that also ads to her inner strength. Seriously, though, thanks for saying that because it helped me a lot. And yes, there will be more action in this chapter XD**

**So, read please! That's what you came here for, right?**

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><p>"Mama! Dan stole my food again!" Rachel yelled.<p>

"Dan, give her back her food!" I called. Why had I ever agreed to take these two in? Oh, yeah. Maybe because they had the same helpless look in their eyes as the other subjects did after experiments.

Then again, why was I letting a bunch of kids stay with me, anyway?

Maybe because of that promise I made...

Three months had passed by that time, and I was doing pretty well. I found an old house that no one lived in and claimed it as my own. It even had a working tap, so taking baths and washing stuff would be much easier. I used the money the Elrics had offered me to buy clothes and food and some cleaning supplies. I couldn't stand having a house so dirty, even if I'd lived in something dirtier for pretty much my whole life. Don't judge me because I'm a neat freak.

I managed to get a job at a local grocer to get extra money. The funds from the Elrics wouldn't last forever, right? It didn't offer very much money, but it was more than enough to keep me alive, so I was happy as a clam.

A few weeks after I started living at my house, a kid showed up and passed out on my doorstep. Not sure what to do, I dragged him inside, waited until he got up, and made him eat something. If I was able to, that was what I would have done to the other subjects when they passed out. He told me that his name was Clay and that he was homeless and hungry. I figured, Hey, why not? He was pretty much in the same situation that I was in after I left Lab 4.

Then, more kids started coming. All homeless, all with some story or other about how they got there. Some even told me that they heard a rumour that there was a nice girl who was taking in homeless children. Which, of course, I was doing. Soon, I had a whole little family of about fifteen or twenty kids ranging from toddlers to teens.

I was known to the younger kids as "mama" because I was essentially their mom. I fed them, clothed the, and played with them when I had the time. I couldn't cook if my life depended on it, but they didn't care. They loved me like I was actually their mom and, boy, did that do wonders for my attitude.

Now, back to the Rachel/Dan food fight. Rachel and Dan are twins of about seven years old who are constantly fighting. They showed up with an older boy named Eric, who was pretty much their surrogate father.

"Mama! He's not giving it back!"

"Dan, give the goddamned food back!" The kids were used to my colourful language by now, but I told them not to repeat anything I said just in case they were ever adopted or whatever. "You're going to be fat and your sister's going to die if you keep eating her share!"

"Yes, mama!" Dan chirped and handed it over.

"Hey, are you okay?" Eric asked from somewhere to my right. "You've been off today."

"It's nothing." I muttered and took a rather hard swing at the tomato I'd been cutting. When I woke up that morning, still early because my sleeping pattern just wouldn't adjust, I'd smelled something odd in the city. Having a wolf's nose always kept me on patrol. It smelled like... well, you probably wouldn't get it, but it smelled kind of like something religious. It's hard to explain, but it wasn't normal at all.

I pushed the tomato to the side and turned to face the crowd of kids. "Alright, everyone! I have to go out and buy a few things, and I'm leaving Clay in charge of the place! You behave yourselves for him."

"Aww, but mama!" A little boy of about ten, known as Jacob, whined. "You promised me that you'd teach me some of that magic stuff today!"

"It's not magic. Its alchemy and I promise I'll teach you later." I told him. "I'll be back." I left the house and began my walk down the street, pondering over the promise I had made. No, not the one to Jake, but a very different, very important one.

"_Twelve? I'm hungry." Eleven said from beside me._

"_Me too." I hugged my knees and tried to absorb some warmth. It was cold in the room that all twelve of us were crammed into, and body heat offered no warmth at all. "I hope they feed us soon."_

"_How can they treat us like this? I mean, I know we've been going through it for our whole lives, but it's just not right!" said Three, the ever logical. "And we can't even help each other get food or even get warm..."_

"_And we're only kids, too." Seven added, shaking her head. We often had these moments of contemplation with each other just to vent emotions._

"_I don't know what all of you are thinking, but maybe fusing us with animals was the best thing for us. We're strong enough to break out now." said Four._

"_Are you kidding? When they catch us, we're beyond screwed." I snapped. "There's no breaking out for us."_

"_Maybe if we're strong enough, we can." One said after much thought. I couldn't see his expression from my spot on the floor, but I could tell he was thinking hard just by the tone of his voice. "We have to be strong and help each other, and maybe even help the other people trapped in his lab."_

"_We work as a team." Two agreed, raising her head proudly. "Help us, to help others, to help everyone."_

"_That's a promise." Eight agreed. "We'll help everyone we can get out of here." _

"_Okay." One, our rightful leader, said. "We're going to work as a team to get the hell out of here and find a way for everyone else to get out too. Deal?"_

"_Deal." We said in unison. Eleven took my hand, and I took Six's. Soon we all joined hands and were grinning like idiots at each other. _

We were only seven. I was the only one who escaped.

I was still helping everyone I could. I couldn't aid the other subjects in their escape from the lab, so I helped everyone else. At least I kept my promise... sort of.

I continued down the street, dodging between people at the market. I was always uncomfortable at the claustrophobic crowds there, but it was easy to get used to after a while.

"Sorry." I muttered as I bumped into someone. I continued on my way and bought everything I was looking for. I took a shortcut through some alleys to get back to the house. I had a bunch of hungry kids to feed, so I couldn't waste any time.

"Are you the chimera known as Subject Twelve?" a low, menacing voice asked from behind me. I instinctively dropped into a crouch, ready to take a hit, and turned to the person who was questioning me. Tanned skin, spiky gray and white hair, a pair of black sunglasses, and a large x-shaped scar on his face made him took just as terrifying as he sounded.

"Why, who's asking?" I said calmly.

"Are you Subject Twelve?" he repeated. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes. Do you have something against me? I don't think I've threatened you before."

"You are a crime against God. You must be eliminated." He said. He curled his fingers in a bit and slammed his palm into the ground. There was a flash of light and I suddenly lost my balance. I flew backward a few feet and hit the ground hard. There was a sickening _pop_ as my left shoulder was dislocated.

"Damn it." I hissed, blinking blood out of my eye from the scrapes on my face. "That was alchemy."

"I will give you a moment to pray to God." He said coldly, raising his hand for another transmutation.

"A moment is exactly what I need!" I turned and ran for my life, discarding the bag of groceries. There was no way I could fight that crazy idiot off with a dislocated shoulder. Unfortunately, he wasn't done with me yet. Now he was after me, transmuting the ground as I dashed through the alleys.

I came out into the market and tried to lose the Crazy Alchemist in the crowd. I could hear his footsteps over the bustle of people, but I was sure he couldn't see me because of my... lack of height. Still, he was pretty good at keeping track of me.

_Damn. I won't last much longer in this condition, and I can't have him follow me back to the house..._ I thought. I suddenly began to smell metal and gunpowder, and a lot of it. _What...?_

"Clear the area!" a voice called. "We have received word of two highly dangerous criminals in this market!" There was a unified gasp and general words of shock as people began to walk away from the shops. I could see a few military uniforms pushing against the fleeing crowd, trying to find the evildoers.

"Two criminals? What do they mean tw- oh." I realized. Highly dangerous criminal 1: the Crazy Alchemist.

Highly dangerous criminal 2: me.

"There!" one of the MPs cried. I heard the click of a gun and swore loudly as bullets came at me from all directions.

"And there's the other one!" another called. Crazy Alchemist man was caught, too. I ran as fast as I could away from the scene, with the alchemist on my heels followed by the military. _All of the people are blocking the alleys. There's no way out!_

Then I heard a startled, "Brother, look!"

I could hear the sound of ricocheting bullets and clanking as I raced onwards. The military were yelling at someone to get out of the way, that there were dangerous criminals in the area. They didn't hesitate to keep firing, and their aim seemed to only be getting more accurate. And Crazy was still after me.

"So you're a criminal now? I thought you could do better." Someone said from beside me. I looked over. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Running for my life!" I yelled at the Fullmetal Alchemist. "And I'm _not _a criminal! I have no idea why they're after me. Well, the logical explanation would be that they're taking me back to the lab, but-"

"No time for talking. Just run! I have a plan." He said. "I thought you'd be dead by now like all of the other subjects. Who knew you weren't that stupid?"

"Don't you _dare_ mock them! They're braver than you'll ever be!" I glared at him, seriously pissed already. "If I wasn't running to save my own ass I'd be kicking yours!"

He laughed. "Easy there." Then he stopped running and turned to the military. "Hey! Don't shoot!" My run faltered but I kept going and ducked into the closest alley. The crowd had fled, leaving the way clear. I put my back against a wall, panting like, well, a dog.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Al stood in front of me looking down.

"Yeah, fine. Just a minor injury." I shifted my weight a little and forced myself into a standing position.

"Brother's doing all that he can to delay the military. There's no persuading them out of killing you." Al said. "We have to get out of here while we can."

"So they're really after me, then?" I asked, and Al nodded. "If they know so much about who I am, then they'll know where I'm living. I've got to get there." I began to run again and Al followed, asking no questions. We got back to the house in record time and I burst through the door, panting still.

There was a collective "Woah" as the entire house stared at me in shock. I looked from kid to kid, then marched to get a bag and began to cram it full of clothes.

"Clay, do you remember that emergency rendezvous point I set up a while ago?" I asked, not turning to face the boy.

"Hold on, you're injured." Clay said.

"The freaking rendezvous point. _Do. You. Remember._"

"Y-yes." He stammered. "Why?"

"Take any money and food that you can, and bring everyone there. Don't come back here for a while. Do you understand?" I slung the bag over my good shoulder and looked him in the eye. "It's a bit of a long story that I've got no time to tell."

"Mama," Rachel tugged on my pant leg, "are you leaving? Where are you going?"

"Away. For a long time." I patted her head and looked around the room. "I'm being followed by the police for some reason, and the first place they'll come to find me is here. I want all of you to stay safe and keep away, alright?" There was a moment of silence and everyone nodded.

"But you promised to teach me some of that alchemawhazzits." Jake argued.

"It's alchemy, Jakey, and I promise I'll teach you as soon as I come back." I said. "I've got to get out of here now. Clay, you know what to do. Eric, Amy, and Ryan, give him a hand with getting the younger kids out."

"You got it." They said.

"There's something bad going on, isn't there?" Dan looked up at me with big brown eyes.

"Yeah, probably." I crouched down so I was at eye level with the twins. "You guys be brave, okay? We can't have you dying while I'm away." Their faces were determined as they walked off to get their belongings. I made my way back to the door, where Al was standing.

"That was..."

"My house." I finished irritably. "Now let's go. Is Ed planning on meeting us anywhere?"

"Not that I know of. But I think our hotel room would be the best bet." Al said.

"Good enough. I want to get out of here before the military finds me." I pushed by Al and began to walk as fast as I could.

"Where do you plan on going after we get back to the hotel room?"

"I'll probably be mooching off you guys for a while until it's safe to come back here." I replied. He was already a step ahead of me, even though I was walking as fast as I possibly could without running. "I can get us out onto a main road and then you can lead us from there."

"Okay."

We kept going for a while, cutting through alleys and dodging the occasional stray cat. I began to hear footsteps after some time. It couldn't have been the military because there were only two pairs of feet and they were both coming from one direction. But they were running, and coming towards us fast. Then, I began to pick up more pairs of feet a while behind the first two and they were running also. That had to be the military.

The ground began to rumble and I knew that the Crazy Alchemist was responsible. I jumped into the air and forced my wings out, ignoring the intense pain in my dislocated shoulder. Al stumbled about as the ground shifted, and from around a corner came Crazy, followed by Ed, who had transmuted his arm into a sword.

I dropped out of the sky, one leg extended and ready to deliver a skull-shattering blow. Crazy grabbed my ankle and swung me into the side of a building, knocking the air out of my lungs. Ed tried to slash at Crazy but he dodged and transmuted a wall, blowing it to pieces. I vaguely noticed that he wasn't changing the basic materials of the brick, just deconstructing them, but I pushed the thought away and focused on the battle.

Right as I turned my head to watch the fight, I could hear the shouts of the military. They rounded the corner a few seconds later, carrying their guns, all aimed at me and Crazy. The guns pointed at me were different from the ones pointed at Crazy, I noticed. I looked down the gun barrel and nearly had a heart attack.

"Needles. They have..." After being injected by scientists wielding syringes containing who knows what in them for your whole life, you usually develop a fear of needles.

"Fullmetal Alchemist, sir! We suggest you move out of the way now!" They called. Paralyzed with fear, there was no possibility of me getting out of the way before they began to fire. Ed was already around a corner, and Al was nowhere to be seen. A needle-bullet sank into my thigh, and another one lodged itself in my forearm. Over the reek of gunpowder, I could smell tranquilizer.

_Ha ha, bastards. Too bad for you. I'm immune to tranquilizers. _ The Lab 5 scientists frequently used drugs to knock us out, and I, along with the other subjects, built up immunity to them. I stood up, smirking, and began to run away. When my vision swam and I fell onto my hands and knees, I knew something was wrong.

"Shit... it's a different tranquilizer..." I panted, clutching my chest as I lost the ability to breathe. My consciousness quickly slipped away and I was somewhat aware of arms dragging me somewhere. They'd caught me, and I was going back to the lab.

_No, damn it!_

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><p><strong>So, there's your reason why Twelve is so strong-ish. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review! If you don't have an account, that's fine.<strong>


	4. Louise

**Yay! More quick updates! Although, FanFiction was being mean and wasn't letting me upload yesterday -.- Did anyone else have that problem? **

**I went to see Rioo the other day, and at the part with the stilt walkers that had palm trees on their heads, I couldn't help but think "Oh, look! It's Envy!" **

**Anyways, I've hit ten reviews now :D Thanks so much, everyone! Even though it doesn't seem like much, I really appreciate everything! Thanks again!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, because if I did, I would have made Ed and Winry get together sooner. **

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><p><em>Crap. No, I can't be back at the lab. <em>

_No, no, nonononononono! _

_Damn it, how could I let myself get caught? _

_Twelve, whatever you do, don't open your eyes, and maybe they'll think you're dead._

That was pretty much my hysterical train of thought for the first few minutes after I woke up.

I hadn't opened my eyes, sticking to my own advice. I just sat there, waiting for the footsteps that would only take me to more torture. The haze from the drugs had worn off by the time the hysteria started. In fact, the absence of the drugs seemed to be what was causing it.

_Please, don't let me be back in that hellhole. Please, please, pl- Wait. It's awfully warm in here for it to be the lab._

I cracked my eyes open a little bit. Nope, definitely not the lab. If I had taken the time to sniff the air, I would have noticed that it didn't smell like the lab, either. I sat up and my head throbbed. I must have had a concussion of some sort. My shoulder was still hurting like crazy; it had obviously not been put back in place or splinted.

"Twelve, you're awake! Look brother! She's up!"

"Al?" I muttered, turning around a little. Indeed, it was Al who spoke, and Ed was sitting next to him in a chair, looking tired and sore as he flipped through a book. "I thought I was back at the lab."

"Nope." Al shook his head, producing a clanging sound. "We managed to drag you away from the military after you passed out."

"Well, thanks again." I said. "Now then, I've got to go check on everyone else."

"No way! You're still injured, and you're not looking very good over there." Al said worriedly. I stood up anyway, ignoring him.

"Are you kidding, Al? She should leave." Ed looked up from his book and shut it. He threw it at me and it nailed me square in the shoulder, causing me to fall back onto the bed, clutching my arm with my head down.

"That _hurt, _you idiot." I said slowly. "Just in case your tiny brain can't process the incredibly _wrong_ angle my shoulder is at, I should probably tell you now that it's dislocated."

"Who're you calling tiny?" Ed stood, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Brother, calm down." Al begged.

"Whatever. I'm going to get some sleep." Ed walked over to the bed. "Move." I obliged, not wanting to be hit by a book again. He curled up and was snoring in seconds. With a sigh, I sat down in the chair he was formerly in.

"What's with him?" I asked.

"He hasn't had much sleep."

"What do you mean? I've only been out for a few hours, right?"

"You've been unconscious for a whole week." Al replied grimly.

"Damn. They really beefed up those drugs..." I looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe I shouldn't have called him stupid."

"He can be kind of an idiot sometimes. I think throwing that book at you was a little bit rude, though." Al sympathized. "We'll have to get that fixed soon. You'll have problems for the rest of your life if we don't."

"I already have problems that'll last the rest of my life." I glanced sideways at him and smirked. "But hey, if he hadn't thrown that book at me, I would probably be out on the street right now, getting caught by the military."

"I guess you have a point." He said. "Listen, while brother's sleeping, you should get some rest too. He doesn't like having you around, and I'm pretty sure you'll be getting an earful when he wakes up."

"I'll try, Al. Sleeping doesn't come naturally to me." I closed my eyes, and was soon asleep. It was odd because my sleeping habits hadn't changed much since I left the lab. But still, being unconscious is like not sleeping, which meant I hadn't slept in a week.

"Yeesh, she's finally awake. You sleep like a log." Ed muttered after I opened my eyes.

"Thanks for the compliment, you jerk." I sat up a little and my shoulder throbbed. "It's getting worse."

"We're taking you to a clinic today. You need your shoulder set." Al explained. "You slept through the day." He added as he saw the look of confusion on my face.

"A clinic, huh?" I sat up a little more and rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't like the sound of that."

"It's not like we can fix it ourselves." Ed said. Even though he was still being rather hostile, he sounded much less grumpy than he had the previous day.

"Your point has been made." I said. "I wouldn't trust you fixing one of my wounds as far as I could throw you."

"Come on, we're leaving." Ed put his coat on and walked over to the door, on eyebrow twitching with irritation. I stood up shakily and followed him.

"Aren't you coming, Al?" I looked to the armoured boy.

"No." He shook his head. "I don't think the medical personnel would like having me around."

"Oh. Well, we'll be back soon." I followed Ed out the door and down to the main floor of whatever hotel we were in. We walked for a long while in silence until Ed finally spoke up.

"So, what have you been up to these past few months?"

"Long story short, I set up a home for the homeless. I had about twenty kids staying in my house. I fed and cared for all of them." I said. Ed raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really? You did that?"

"Mmhmm. What, did you expect something different from a person who grew up pretty much antisocially her whole life? It's not like caring for others is beneath me. I'm almost just like any other nice person you'd meet." He was silent. "You have a problem with that?"

"No. I guess I just didn't expect that from someone like you." He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking without another word.

The part of Central that we were walking through was quite new to me so I kept on my toes, turning at every sound or strange smell. Ed kept giving me weird looks as I constantly twitched and flinched. Finally, he just sighed and ignored me.

"Here we are." He said. We stopped in front of a building with a huge sign aptly labelled "CLINIC." He pulled open the door for me and I stepped through.

The smell of medical equipment was so overwhelming that I gagged and a migraine quickly began to spread from the back of my head. I knew I was shaking to some degree and my stomach was turning over. My palms began to sweat as soon as we entered.

"Are you okay?" Ed asked.

"I- no, I'm not. It's the goddamn medical stuff. It's getting to me." I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, trying to force the feelings away.

"You'd better pull yourself together." He said quietly. "People are starting to stare."

"Well, they can go the hell ahead and stare then. I don't care." I mumbled. Unpleasant memories of the lab that I tried to push away were beginning to come back. That only increased the urge to throw up all over the floor.

"Take a seat. I'll go let them know we're here." Ed ordered. I did so and leaned back, letting out a loud sigh. The nausea was beginning to fade away but the migraine was still planted firmly in my head. I rubbed my temples as I waited for Ed to come back and sit down.

"It's the smell." I said to him once he came over. "It smells like the lab. I'll tell you, it's not doing my nerves much good."

"You sure you'll be okay?"

I smiled wryly. "It's not like I'm going to die." We waited for a while, and the migraine gradually began to recede to a dull ache in the back of my head. I stood up when they called me in, and the headache returned. _Great. Just great._ I thought.

It became even worse when they put me in a tiny room and asked me to sit on an examination table. Ed was sitting in a chair across the room, watching me as I shuddered uncontrollably.

"Stop staring." I said. "It's getting awkward."

"But you just said that people could-"

"Yeah, well, now I just said to stop." I snapped. "Oh, god, I'm going to throw up..." The doctor came in a few minutes later, wearing a white jacket and wielding a clipboard. I felt the overwhelming urge to beat the crap out of him, but I managed to stay put on the examination table.

"So, your shoulder's been dislocated, huh?" he peered at me over the tops of his glasses. "Even from here, I can tell it's pretty bad." _Just get on with it. _"How long since you dislocated it?"

"About a week. Maybe eight days."

"Eight days? Why didn't you come see us sooner?"

"I was unconscious. I, uh, hit my head really hard when I fell." I lied. I couldn't just tell them that I was being chased by a crazy alchemist and fell, dislocating my shoulder as I went.

"That would explain the scrapes on your face." He said. "Thankfully they aren't infected or anything and they don't seem to be impairing your ability to speak." Ed snorted loudly, covering a laugh. I shot him a glare. "I'm just going to take a look." He pulled up my sleeve and I flinched a little on instinct. The bone was sticking out at an awkward angle, and the doctor frowned.

"It's an anterior dislocation. We can fix it here if you like. It'll hurt, but it will work." He said.

"I'm fine with that." I said.

"We've got painkillers, if you need them."

"Do they come in needles?"

"Yes."

"I'll be fine." I said weakly.

"Scared of needles, eh?" He began to scribble stuff on the clipboard.

"Just an old fear that I've never been able to get over." I muttered.

"Well, I'll be back in a minute. I've got to go get someone." He set his pen down with a clack and left the room.

"Oh, man." I groaned. "This is going to hurt like hell."

"I thought you were used to pain." Ed smirked.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but I can still feel it, and it affects me." I said stiffly. A few minutes later, the doctor came back with someone else in tow. He was pretty tall and muscular, with raven black hair and deep brown eyes. He regarded me with a nod.

"This is Jonathan. He's training to be a doctor."_I hate him already._ I thought. "He needs a bit of training with dislocated limbs, so I hope you don't mind being a guinea pig." _No, of course not. You're just going to let an inexperienced guy shove my shoulder back into place. I don't mind _at all. "You remember all of the steps?"

"Of course." Jonathan said. He took a step forward and gently grabbed my upper arm. "This will probably hurt a lot."

"I know." I muttered, dropping my head a lot. "I'm ready when you are."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" he said, and begun moving my arm. He rotated it slowly a few times. I bit down on the inside of my cheek to refrain from crying out.

"I suppose." I said, though my voice was a bit muffled. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Twenty-two." He replied evenly. "And you? You can't be more than thirteen." I heard Ed laugh.

"I'm fifteen." I said. "Don't you dare call me shor- DAMN IT!" I screamed as he jerked the bone back into place. "_What the hell?_You could have _warned _me!"

"Language." Ed snickered from his seat.

"It was easier to distract you from what was going on." Jonathan said. "You did well, though. That would have had most people crying."

"Yeah, well, I make a point of not crying." I pouted. The doctor came over and put my arm in a sling.

"Keep this on for the next week, then come back and see us so we can check your progress." He said.

"Fine. Sure." _Whatever._

"Don't try and overexert yourself. It's bad for your arm." He explained. "You can go now."

"Thanks for your help." I said, hopping off the table. "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome." The doctor and Jonathan said at the same time. They were out of the room shortly before we were, and we left the building promptly.

"'Yeah, well, I make a point of not crying.'" Ed mimicked, doing a horrible job of imitating my voice. "What was all that when you figured out about the other subjects, then?"

"They were my family. We protected and cared for each other. What if Al was murdered by evil scientists?" I retorted. Ed looked away. An apology formed in my mouth, but the damage was already done.

"You're really expensive, you know." He said after a while. "Do you know how much it cost me to pay for that?"

"A lot?" I guessed sheepishly.

"Two thousand cens." He replied. "And that's just for one visit."

"Did you expect me to pay for it? I left all of my money with the homeless kids, and I wouldn't have enough to pay for it anyway." I said.

"Well you could have made an effort! And, to top it all off, we're stuck in Central for a week because of you."

"Um, I never said I was staying." I looked at him quizzically.

He sucked in a breath. "Al and I decided that we'd look after you while you were sleeping. You're just going to get killed if we let you go."

"Oh dear. You're going soft on me." I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine on my own."

"It's not like I was going to tell Al off! I can't reject his feelings all the time!"

"Well, you seem to be doing a pretty good job of that as it is." I smirked. Ed glared at me.

"You really know how to get under people's skin." He muttered.

"Yep. It got me beaten a fair bit at the lab." I sighed. "I'm hungry."

"It's late. We're going to get some dinner after we get back." Ed responded, his stomach growling a bit. "Try and order something cheap, okay?" I let out a laugh. "So, you're still... Twelve, then?"

"Yeah. I like it. It's got a nice ring to it." I said.

"People will think you're weird." Ed said, and then added, "Well, you are weird."

"Oh, what tipped you off? The wings?" I rolled my eyes again. "I'll always be weird. A freak, I suppose. I don't have any hope of getting my original body back, and I'm not asking you to help me do it."

"Do you usually have those moments of philosophy?"

"Yes. Quite frequently." I said. "Hey, isn't that the hotel?"

Ed peered over the heads of the crowd. _Short Twelve: 1. Taller Ed: 0. _"Yeah, it is. Come on." We walked back into the room, where Al was reading a book.

"You're back!" he squeaked. "And you're green." I assumed he was referring to me. I was still nauseous from being at the clinic, so my face was probably an unsightly shade of green. "Are you okay?"

"It was just the smell of the clinic. It made me sick." I explained, taking a seat on the nearest bed, which happened to be Ed's. He glared at me and sat down on the opposite side. His good nature from the walk seemed to have faded away.

"We're going to dinner in a few minutes, Al." Ed told his younger brother. Indeed, we did leave a few minutes later and went to a restaurant down the road. I ordered something small and inexpensive, like Ed advised (ordered) me to earlier.

Out of nowhere, Al said, "I can't call you Twelve anymore."

"What?" I looked up from my meal, which was some kind of noodles. I didn't care what they were called, they just tasted good.

"It's too weird."

"Weird?" I scoffed. "It's perfectly fine."

"To _you._" Ed smirked. "I told you earlier, it sounds weird."

"You never said it sounded weird. You said people would think I was weird." I countered.

"Same thing." Ed muttered.

"We should give you a name." Al declared. "A real one."

"Ah, no thanks. I'm good with just Twelve."

"But it's so awkward!" Al complained.

"A no is a no, Al." I sighed dramatically to prove my point.

"Oh, come on. Please?" Al begged.

"You know, I don't like it either." Ed said thoughtfully. _Oh, now you're making a joke out of it just to pick on me, are you?_

"Okay, fine. You can pick a name for me, yay for you. But it has to be reasonable, and I have to like it." I said, pointing an accusing finger at both of them. "If it's stupid, I won't keep it." The brothers looked at each other in silent victory. Ed was grinning, and I knew he was going to say something seriously idiotic.

"How about Erica?" Al suggested.

"Nope. Reminds me too much of one of the kids I lived with."

"Rue?"

"No, to girly."

"Rebecca." Ed said.

"No."

"Josephine."

"Are you high? No."

This went on for about the next fifteen minutes. The brothers kept bouncing names at me, and I kept bouncing them right back. They just didn't get that their names were stupid. Of course, I couldn't do any better than they could.

"Winry."

"Um, hell no. That's kind of a stupid name." I said. Ed gave Al a strange look for suggesting that name, but I ignored it.

"There must be _something_ that you like." Al said in frustration.

"I don't know. Maybe this whole 'name' thing just isn't for me." I said. We all went quiet for a few minutes, staring into space.

"Louise." Al said. I twitched, looking in his direction.

"What?" I asked.

"Louise. What about that?" he repeated. I thought over it for a second. Not to girly, but not too masculine, either. I thought it was kind of badass, too.

"I think we have a winner." I announced.

"Louise." Ed said thoughtfully. "Hey, Louise."

I looked over. "Yeah?" I said, playing along.

"What did you think of the, umm, sky today, Louise?"

"Okay, now you just sound like an idiot." I said flatly. Al laughed and Ed shot me a dirty look.

"So, Louise it is, then." Al said.

"I guess so." I couldn't have been prouder. Known as Twelve, Subject Twelve, and many other unflattering names my whole life, that name was something special to me. I don't think I'd have it any other way.

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><p><strong>So, that's chapter 4. What did you think? Please point out any spelling mistakesplot issues in the reviews!**


	5. The Muggers Get Mugged

**I haven't updated in sooooo long. Sorry about that. My inspirational muse went for a two week vacation.**

**I had my piano exam to do (I'm still freaking out, and it was last Saturday), I have three tests to study for, and a wedding to go to on the weekend. Don't expect an update too soon. **

**On the positive note, I've been learning Again, which is Brotherhood opening one, and I just played through the whole song. I'm quite proud of it, if you don't mind me saying. It's quite the epic song.**

**And did you know that the funny antenna that Ed has actually has a _name?_ It's called an ahodge. Don't ask how I know. I get bored sometimes. **

**So, here's chapter 5. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, Mustang would kick more ass.**

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><p>My arm was throbbing by the time we got back to the hotel room, but I was ignoring it because I was so happy about my new name. I was practically singing in my head: <em>Louise, Louise LouiseLouise. <em>It lifted my mood, which hadn't been very good, a lot.

"What have you guys been up to since I left?" I asked after we sat down in the Elric's room.

"Well, we managed to get yelled at a lot by our teacher and-"

I cut Al off. "A teacher? For what?"

"Alchemy." Al explained patiently. "She taught us alchemy, and how to fight when we were little kids. It was before we-" he caught himself. "Anyways, we've been hanging around Dublith for a while, and we ran into a few people. We went to Rush Valley to fix Ed's automail because of a battle with a Homuncu-" He stopped again, and I was beginning to get irritated with him.

"Al, just finish the sentence." I said.

"A Homunculus." He said. I raised my head a little.

"Homunculus. I know that word. Isn't it a... an immortal human or something? Aren't they supposed to be a myth?"

"This one was real." Ed confirmed. "He could harden his skin into a substance called Graphene, the hardest form of carbon. If you see any guys with tattoos of a dragon eating its tail, watch out."

"Didn't that ass hole that broke my wrist have a tattoo like that?" I asked.

"That was Envy." Al said. "He's a Homunculus too."

"And that's not good, obviously." I said. Al nodded.

"This Homunculus had chimera with him." Ed said casually, as one would say _You dropped your pencil on the floor. _

"He had what? You mean, the experiments went farther than just the twelve like me?" I stood up so fast that the chair I was in fell over. "But that's-"

"Most of them were killed by the military." Ed said. "Don't get your hopes up." I glared at him and pulled the chair off of the floor.

"Ed? Al? Are you okay in there?" a voice asked from outside the room. I looked over to the door, tensing on instinct at possible danger.

"We're fine!" Al said. The door swung open and a girl stepped in. She had long hair so blonde it was almost yellow and cheery blue eyes. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail with two parts framing her face. The smell of metal and painkillers hit me like a blast of wind, and I nearly gagged. I didn't like her already.

"Oh, you must be that girl Ed and Al were talking about. I'm Winry Rockbell, Ed's automail mechanic." She walked over to me and stuck out a hand, which I shook awkwardly.

"Twel- Louise." I corrected myself.

Winry looked confused. "What?"

"Sorry, just Louise." I said. "It's- never mind. Forget it."

"Oh. Well, nice to meet you." She smiled. "You guys sounded like you were talking about something serious in here."

"Nope. Nothing important." Ed leaned back on the bed, his arms behind his head. _Yeah, right. _ I thought, but kept my mouth shut. Winry raised an eyebrow; she was obviously used to the Elrics keeping secrets from her, but I could tell she didn't like it.

"Okay." She said. "Louise, why don't you come to my room? I'm sure you don't want to stay around these idiots for much longer."

"Um, sure?" It must have been me not being used to all the hospitality that I was getting, but I was feeling a little awkward.

"It's right next door, so come over whenever you want!" she said cheerily. She left the room and I exhaled, trying to blow away the smell of drugs that was stuck in my nose.

"She smells," I said quietly, "like metal and drugs."

Ed smirked. "I guess that would explain why you're so green."

"Shut your face, Elric." I muttered. "It's not like I got the choice of having a sensitive nose." Ed silenced himself at that, and I let a little smile of victory slip onto my face. "I guess your friend doesn't know I'm a chimera yet, huh?"

"No, she doesn't." Al said.

"Well, if I'm trying to blend in with the human population, I suppose I should go over there." I said. "See you later." I left the room and rapped quietly on Winry's door. She said "Come in" and I did so. She was tinkering with some odd mechanical part with a screwdriver, sitting on her bed with a frustrated look on her face.

"Oh, hi, Louise." She didn't look up from her work.

"Is that one of the parts from Ed's automail?" I inquired.

"Just a spare." She sighed and threw the thing down on the bed. "He's always breaking it. He's such an idiot."

"I haven't even known him for long, and I figured that out a while ago." I said. It was hard making conversation with unpleasant smells flooding my nose every time I took a breath. It smelled like metal and oil- and medical stuff. I tried not to throw up.

Winry laughed. "Yeah, that's right. So, what city are you from?"

I fumbled for words, not sure what to say. "Oh, around. I don't... really... have a home, exactly."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm kind of homeless." I admitted. Winry looked shocked.

"Ed and Al actually went through the effort of taking you in? I'm surprised at them." She said.

I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"I've been around Central, and then a criminal came after me for some reason, then the military followed and tried to kill me." I said. Lying was one of my specialties. I'd done it a lot at the lab.

"My gosh!" Winry exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I only dislocated my shoulder." I said.

"Only?" Winry's mouth hung open."What kind of dislocation? I can help, if you want." She blurted it all out, then stopped for a second. "Sorry. My parents were doctors, so I know a lot about medical stuff. I kind of have to, being an automail engineer."

Another reason to hate her. Her parents were doctors.

"It's fine. I already went and got it fixed." I said, a little darkly. I tried not to act like I hated Winry- she was a nice girl. But, doctors and medical related stuff generally wasn't on my list of favourite things. "If it helps, the doctor said anti-something dislocation. I didn't really catch it."

"Anterior." She nodded slowly. "You should probably keep that sling on for the rest of the week."

"I know. I've been told."

"So, where are you from?" Winry asked. "Oh, sorry, you're homeless. Right. But, didn't you have a family before you lost your home?"

"Not that I can remember. I lost all memory of my family. From what I can pull together, there was some kind of terrible accident." I lied once more. I made a mental note to use that as my cover story in case I needed it again.

"That's sad. I'm sorry." Her eyes softened a bit. I almost smirked. She felt sympathy for me, even though my story was total bull.

"What about you? Where's your family?"

"I have a grandma back home in Resembool..." she trailed off. "Ed and Al are like brothers to me. I've known them since we were little kids. My parents died in the Ishvalan war." _Ishvalan War... oh, yeah._ _The big religious conflict in Ishval. The military killed a bunch of people, didn't they?_

"That's... that's horrible." I shared her pain- my parents were probably dead too, even though I didn't know them. "I guess it's my turn to be sorry."

"There's one thing we have in common!" Winry smiled, brushing off the sadness. "What are you into? Alchemy, engineering, pottery..."

"Well, I suppose I know a lot about alchemy." I said thoughtfully. "I've never really gone to school, so I have no hope for a future." Another lie. The scientists at the lab had taught us everything we needed to know, from mathematics, to science, to fighting, to table etiquette.

"Don't say that! If you have a talent in alchemy, you should use it! You could make a killing off of doing small jobs." I noticed that she didn't suggest becoming a State Alchemist. I guessed that she didn't like the fact that Ed was one.

"I guess." I sighed. "I don't really know." We spent the rest of the evening just talking to each other, getting to know the other. Well, it was really more me finding out about Winry, since I didn't have much to say about my past other than meaningless lies. It was late by the time we stopped talking, and I had a feeling that the Elrics were already asleep.

"Why don't you stay in my room?" Winry offered. "I've got two beds, and it's probably way more comfortable than sleeping in a chair in that room."

"Sure." I accepted, and left to get my bag of stuff from the Elric's room. I was a little uneasy about sleeping in a room that constantly smelled like anaesthetics and metal, but I figured that I'd get used to it.

"Oh, hi Louise!" Al said once I entered. Ed was still up, which surprised me a little.

"You're still awake." I observed, looking to Ed.

He blinked. "I'm always up at this time."

"Whatever." I muttered. "I'm sleeping in Winry's room. See you in the morning."

"Fine. Go do that." Ed said. "Just don't try any escapes, okay? You nearly killed us when you ran off last time."

I laughed. "No problem. See you." I left the room and closed the door behind. Winry was tinkering with another piece of metal while lying on her back in her pyjamas. I walked into the bathroom and changed into my own excuse for pyjamas: a baggy shirt and a pair of pants. It was all I could afford. Don't judge me.

I flopped down on the extra bed-I was tired. I knew I'd have trouble getting to sleep because of the smell, but I ignored the feeling and tucked myself under the covers.

"Hey, do you think we could open a window?" I asked.

"Oh, sure!" Winry said and promptly opened one. I was tempted to just go out and fly into the open; my bird instincts were kicking in. I'd never had enough room to fly very much at the lab, and I'd never had the time to after I started taking care of the kids.

Winry yawned loudly. "I'm so tired. The trip here killed me."

"For sure! Resembool's pretty far, isn't it?" I'd seen maps of Amestris before, so I knew the basic layout of the country. Five areas: East, West, North, South, and Central.

"Yep. Almost a two day train ride." She said. "I'm going to get some sleep. Good night."

"Night." I said. The lights in the room were out, and I rolled over to get some rest. The metallic smell wasn't going away, and I tossed and turned, trying to sleep. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. Winry was passed out cold, so I unfurled my wings, crouched in the windowsill, and pushed off.

The cool night air was so refreshing, and flying in the sky was just... wonderful. There's no way to describe the feeling of the wind flying through your hair (and feathers, in my case), and that sensation of just being up so high. And the _freedom! _It was amazing.

There was no one out on the streets at this time of night, so I took my time flying around. The military HQ was lit up brightly by lights, but not enough to drown out the light of the stars and the moon. I almost had the desire to just sit there and stare at the sky- my nocturnal wolf instincts were making their appearance.

I finally set down after what seemed like an eternity of flight. I had no idea where I was in the city- I could just fly back to the hotel anyway. I landed in an alley and a stray cat darted away with a startled _meow!_ I strode along, enjoying my freedom. My wings melded into my back, and I winced as the blood ran down my spine.

"It's dangerous to be out here alone, missy." Someone said from behind me. I was seized around the waist and half a dozen tall, burly guys stepped out of the darkness, reeking of alcohol. "You could get hurt." The person who held me smelled like cigars and I gagged. Thinking quickly, I stomped down on his foot so hard that he let me go and I punched him in the chin.

"Woah, this bitch has fight!" he sneered. "That won't get you anywhere."

"Try me." I growled, dropping into a crouch. I heard all six pairs of feet moving at once and immediately ducked lower so that they all crashed into each other. _There's one advantage to being short. _I thought as I deflected a punch from someone. "A little too much alcohol, eh, boys?"

That only got them angrier. I managed to get out of the circle of men and attack one from behind, hitting him so hard between the shoulders that he passed out. I had to fight with one arm because of my shoulder, but I was still doing pretty well. I dodged more punches and threw some of my own too, until someone grabbed me under the arms and held me there. I wasn't getting out now.

"That was uncalled for, kid." The first guy who grabbed me –the one I assumed was leader- growled. "You made a big mistake."

My eyes widened and I froze as one fist balled at his side. He was going to hit me, just as the people back at the lab did. I couldn't move. I was too scared now. He threw his punch, hitting me right in the face. I could taste blood in my mouth, but my jaw wasn't broken. He punched me again, this time in the stomach, and I was left gasping for air. I was released and I curled up in a ball, clutching my abdomen.

_Damn, Twelve! You can't be so weak!_ I thought. The leader came up and kicked me in the same spot, making me release a pained whine, like a dog. He went for another kick, but something stopped him.

"I don't think it's very appropriate to kick a defenceless girl." A familiar voice said. It was that doctor guy from the clinic. What was his name? Joshua, Jacob, James- Jonathan.

"Shut your mouth." The leader said. "You've got no business here."

"I believe I do. There's an injured person here, and I'm a doctor." He said simply. "Now, step away from the girl, or you'll have me to talk to."

"Bastard." One of the others hissed. No one moved.

"Fine." Jonathan sighed and there was a thump, like he was dropping a bag. He then proceeded to start fighting, and did a pretty good job of knocking the remaining four guys out, leaving just the leader ready to attack from behind. I was still too winded to shout out a warning before he was hit in the head and knocked out.

"You little bitch." He said. "You think you'll get away with this?" I finally gained the ability to breathe, and stood up to face him.

"Yes, quite frankly." I lunged at him and kicked him in the crotch. He doubled over, and I brought a fist down on the back of his head. He fell ungracefully to the ground, unconscious.

I looked over to Jonathan. He wasn't doing so well. I picked up his bag and tried to wake him up, but he was out cold. I would have to fly him back to the hotel. The hospitals wouldn't be open at this time, and he was pretty badly injured besides the large lump on the back of his head. I discarded my sling and threw the bag over my shoulders. My wings sprouted from my back and I grabbed Jonathan under the arms.

I flew up as high as I could, stopping to catch my breath every block or so. I wasn't too strong, and this guy was heave. He had to be over six feet tall, which made him a good 150 pounds, about twice my weight. It took me about twenty minutes to get back to the hotel, where I left him on the grass and flew up three storeys to Ed and Al's room. I perched in the open window.

"Louise! What are you doing here?" Al exclaimed, which caused his brother to wake.

"Where's the fire?" Ed mumbled, sitting up and noticing me.

"Um, I brought you guys a present." I said awkwardly.

"What do you mean?"

"Come look." I moved over to the side and Ed approached the window. Once he saw Jonathan lying sprawled out on the lawn, he groaned loudly.

"What the hell did you do this time?"

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><p><strong>Okay, that was chapter 5. Please review, and point out any spelling mistakes that I might have made. And yes, Bananna Bear, I will try and work on Chapter 5 of the other story now. But it's late, and the Fullmetal Vegetable (my new nickname, according to my mom) needs her sleep.<strong>


	6. Healing and a Whole Lot of Short Rants

**Hallo, readers!**

**Sorry about the last author's note- it was really rushed so I didn't get to explain everything. **

**So, this part takes place right before they find out that Hughes is dead (I wen't to a wedding two days ago and sat next to a person with the last name Hughes... I almost cried) and it will stay that way for a while. I might ditch Winry at some point, though. I really like her character, but ever since I started writing this fic, I've become supremely irritated with her XD**

**I watched Conqueror of Shamballa yesterday for the fourth time. That scene when Wrath dies always gets me... Poor Al. It's funny to watch the dubbed version, though, because Al's voice actor is going through puberty XD It's funny to hear his voice crack.**

**Anyways, after that long rant, enjoy the chapter! I had a lot of fun with this one, and you'll see why in a few paragraphs. Happy Victoria Day to all you Canadians, by the way. There were firecrackers going off until midnight around my house... It does not make for good sleep.**

**EDIT: Woah, sorry everyone. Just remembered that I have to put a couple of things in XD One you will find at the beginning of this chappy and the other at the end.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist but I do own Twelve and any new plot. (that's one!)**

**WOAH THERE IS THUNDER OUTSIDE AND ITS LOUD AND THE WINDOW IS OPEN.**

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><p>There was a bit of a frenzy after Ed saw Jonathan lying on the ground unconscious. I had to fly him vertically <em>up the side of a wall<em>, and then get him through the window, which wasn't very easy, even with Al's help. Ed was glaring at me the whole time, and I can't deny that I wanted to kill him for not offering any help. He just watched as Al and I struggled to get Jonathan into the room. My shoulder was killing me, and he did nothing.

"Great job." He muttered, giving me a sarcastic thumbs-up. I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head. Jonathan was now laying on the bed, still out cold. I could still smell medical equipment faintly on him, but it was overpowered by the smell of beef, for some reason. My mouth watered.

_Stupid carnivore instincts..._I thought.

"How exactly did you end up like this?" Al asked as he flicked the light on. Jonathan was covered in more bruises than I had originally thought, and I didn't get off so well either. My cheek was throbbing and I had bruises all down the lengths of my arms and legs, and no doubt on my stomach. A few ribs were possibly broken, too.

"I went out for a flight, was attacked by muggers, and tried to fight them off. One of the caught me, started beating me up, and then this idiot showed up and got himself knocked out." I paused to think. "Yep, that just about sums it up." Al sweat dropped.

"Do you pick gang fights frequently?" Ed muttered.

"Shut up, Ed. It was an accident."

"Oh, _sure, _getting a random stranger knocked out was an 'accident'."

"Oh, so now you're calling me a liar?"

"Yes. Bet you knocked him out yourself. There was no way that was an accident."

"It was so, shorty!"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT-"

"Brother! Louise! You'll wake the whole hotel up!" Al intervened. I was inches away from punching Ed in the face, but Al pushed me away lightly. I sat down in a chair and sighed.

"What are we going to do now? We can't just bring him to a doctor- that'll look weird. And the doctor's won't be open at this time of night anyway."I said. "We can't just wait until morning."

"Well, Winry _is_ a doctor, isn't she?" Al said. "She could help."

"Oh, yeah." I remembered talking with her, and she mentioned that she was good with medical stuff. "But we probably shouldn't wake her up in the middle of the night."

"Like she isn't awake already." Ed mumbled.

"Shut up, pipsqueak. It would be your fault anyway." I retorted. Ed glared at me, but thankfully didn't pull out an impromptu short rant. "We're just going to have to wait, then."

"Are you sure?" Al asked. "You look pretty beat up."

I forced a smile. "Please, Al. I've been worse." I touched the bruise forming on my cheek and winced a little at the pain. I was going to hurt in the morning. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Sleep sounds nice." Ed said thoughtfully. "In fact, I'd like to get a few more hours of it, _Louise._"

"Oh, be quiet." I rolled my eyes at his childishness. "But sleep does sound like a good idea. I haven't had any yet."

"This oaf is taking up my bed." Ed nudged Jonathan lightly. "Where am I supposed to sleep?"

"In Winry's room." I replied. Ed's cheeks coloured.

"But that's your spot!" he objected.

"So? I can live with sleeping on the floor. Besides," I looked to the unconscious boy on the bed, "I'm a light sleeper, and I can keep watch on him to see if he wakes up."

Ed took a moment, his cheeks very red, and replied, "Fine." I almost laughed at the way he said it- he sounded like a frustrated two-year-old. He then left the room, leaving me and Al alone with Jonathan.

"You know, I could just keep watch myself." Al said.

"Yeah, well, Ed's going to complain if he has to sleep on the floor. And Winry smells like motor oil and anaesthetics. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get some sleep." I said. Al looked as stunned as a suit of armour can get. I grabbed a pillow from under Jonathan's head and placed it on the floor. Curling up in a ball, I said, "Good night, Al." He flicked the light off, and I attempted to get to sleep.

.:~*-*~:.

"Hey, Louise."

_No, damn it, go away. I'm still asleep, you stupid bastard scientists._

"Louiiiise."

"No." I muttered, turning away.

There was a sigh. "Get up, you stupid kid!" I threw a punch at whoever was trying to wake me up, and was rewarded with a gasp of air being driven out of the lungs. I put the pillow on my head, and went back to sleep.

And someone kicked me in the back.

"Ow, damn it!" I sprang to my feet and immediately tried to punch my attacker in the face. I aimed right, and hit them between the eyes. Thankfully, I did not break their nose.

Ed toppled backwards and whacked his head on the bedpost, swearing the whole way down. I would have been amusing, except the look on his face meant instant death.

"What-the hell-was that for?" he gasped, glaring at me. I laughed nervously.

"Well, um, I..." I trailed off, and bolted out the door.

"Hey, get back here!" Ed yelled, but I was already down the hall. I could hear him coming after me, but there was no way he was catching up. We ran all the way to the bottom floor of the hotel, yelling taunts at each other the whole time. I'm pretty sure we woke most of the hotel up, if they weren't awake already.

I ran out to the lawn and slipped on a dew-slick patch of grass, doing and ungraceful fall onto my back. In seconds, Ed had me pinned to the ground, ready to return my punch to his face. I quickly realized that he had me down by straddling my waist, and I wanted to knock his stupid blonde head off his shoulders. But, I refrained from decapitating him.

"I've got you now, you little-" I kicked him in the balls before he could finish. He rolled onto the grass, groaning.

"You ever try that again, and I promise it'll be much worse." I said to him. He glared up at me.

"I hate you. You're so stupid." He muttered, getting to his feet.

I sighed, ignoring his comment. "Come on, let's get back inside." He trudged after me as I walked through the doors of the hotel.

Winry was in the hotel room, treating Jonathan. He was still unconscious, but I could tell he was close to waking up. It's a chimera thing, okay?

"Are you two done arguing now?" Winry asked. Ed and I glared at each other, then at Winry.

"Yes," I said at the same time as Ed's, "No."

"Good. Then I'd really appreciate it if you stay quiet. I'm trying to focus." She said. I stole the chair, leaving Ed to sit across the room on a couch. I became impatient after a while and declared my absence by going to the bathroom.

I surveyed my wounds in the mirror. There was a huge purple bruise on my cheek and my hand was also bruised from punching the crap out of the muggers. I lifted my shirt a little, and there was indeed a large red and purple spot on my stomach that was going to hurt for at least a week. I ran a hand through my hair with a sigh. _Twelve-Louise, you're such a klutz. _I thought.

I quickly pulled my hair up, yanking my bangs away from my forehead. They usually hung over my right eye, down past my chin, but they were getting in the way now. Three strands of cowlick-ed hair hung between my eyes, but I didn't mind.

Jonathan still wasn't up yet, but Winry was done tending to his injuries. She sat on the bed next to him, putting away bandages and such.

"Remind me again how he got here?" she looked to me accusingly.

"Well," I quickly thought up a false story for my flight and continued, "I was having some trouble sleeping, so I went to get some air around the city. I ran into some muggers, they tried to kill me, and then Jonathan came to save me."

Winry sighed. "All three of you just seem to draw trouble to yourselves."

"It's a habit." I muttered. "A bad one."

"So, how's he doing?" Al asked.

"He seems to be fine. He received quite a hit to the head though." Winry replied.

"I'm _starving._" Ed said out of nowhere. "Let's go get some food."

"We need someone to keep watch over Jonathan." Winry said.

"I'll do it. I'm not hungry." I said.

"I can stay behind. You should get something, Louise." Alphonse said.

"No, it's fine. You three seem like you haven't seen each other in a long time. It'll be good for you to catch up." I said. "I'll eat when I'm hungry."

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway." Ed said. "Let's go, Al." I glared at him, knowing that he was saying that _I_ didn't matter. They left shortly after, and I was left to find ways to cure my boredom. I sat there for a while, trying to think of something to do.

Absently, I pushed my claws out. Blood dripped through my fingers as I studied them. They were long and curved, and could easily deliver a bad injury to someone. I swiped the air, enjoying the whistling sound the claws made. I heard a groan and quickly sheathed them.

"God, what the hell happened to me?" Jonathan mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the large goose-egg on the back of his head.

"Someone knocked you out." I replied.

"Oh, it's you." He said. "Aren't you supposed to be wearing your sling?"

"I ditched it. I don't need it." I said.

"You're not going to heal any faster if you don't keep that thing on."

"Yeah, well, I seem to be fine now." I rotated my shoulder to show him. "I know how to take care of myself without a doctor constantly hovering over me, thank you very much."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." He raised an eyebrow. "Where's that blonde guy?"

"Out getting food with his brother and his friend." I said. "They'll be back."

"Who fixed me up?"

"You ask a _lot_ of questions." I sighed. "His friend. She comes from a family of doctors."

"I never caught your name at the clinic. Although, I guess that's because your friend was a State Alchemist and he twisted a few arms..." He looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry, I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"Whatever. It's Louise." I said.

"I don't even know how you dislocated your shoulder. Would you mind telling me?"

"That's none of your business." I crossed my arms and looked away.

"Fine." Jonathan raised his hands in defence. "I guess I should get going. Sorry for all the trouble." He stood up to leave, looking a little shaky, and I didn't try to stop him. He needed to get on with his own life, right?

"And where do you think you're going?" Winry stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips. "You're still not fully healed yet, mister."

"I've got a family to get back to. You know, mother, father, little sis-" he stopped.

"What?" Winry asked.

"Sorry, it's just... She died when we were little. There was this huge house fire, and only we survived... She was just a baby." I got the feeling that he wasn't telling the truth, but I didn't pry.

"You apologize a lot, too." I said. Jonathan shot me a look that said "shut up", but I ignored it. "Where're the brothers?"

"Still eating. I came up to check on him." She jerked a thumb in Jonathan's direction. "He seems to be doing fine. But that bump on his head won't be good for his health."

"I can assess my own condition, thanks." Jonathan muttered. "I'm a doctor. But you, Louise, look like you need some help."

"I'm perfectly fine. The bruise will be gone in a few days." I said.

"I don't think so. That'll be there for a couple of weeks if you don't do something about it." He started to walk over to me, but I held up a hand to stop him.

"Don't walk, or you'll fall over. I'll be fine." I said. "The real problem is, what are the brothers going to think when they see you up?" I sighed. "Ed's going to kill me. Again." I hoped that Jonathan would take the hint to get out, but apparently his skull was too thick to absorb that information.

"They're just going to have to deal with it." Winry said. "They can just suck it up."

"I guess you have a point." I muttered. "They've been dealing with me." Winry sat down on a couch and began discussing medical related things with Jonathan, so I tuned out and went into my own thoughts.

So, the military was after me now, trying to kill me, or worse, bring me back to the lab. And I was being hunted down by a crazy alchemist with a God complex. My house had possibly been seized by the military, and the kids were who-knows-where. They had all of my money and they had supplies, so I could go back and check on them at any time. But, I had no idea where in Central I was, so I'd have to mooch off the Elrics until I found a way back to the outskirts of town.

_Gosh, when you put things like that, your life sucks._ I thought.

A few minutes later, Ed and Al walked in. Ed looked full and content, until he saw Jonathan sitting up. He looked to me, then Winry, then said injured man, and said, "Good. You're up. Get out."

Jonathan and Winry stared at Ed, absolutely dumbfounded.

"How could you say that, Ed?" Winry asked. "He's injured."

"I don't care." Ed declared, plopping himself down on the couch.

"Brother, Winry's right. We can't just kick him out." Al said.

"He's been here long enough."

"Someone's grumpy this morning." I said with a smirk.

"That may be because you punched me in the stomach. Oh, _and_ kicked me where it hurts." Ed glared at me.

"_You_ started it." I pointed out. "You could have just waited for me to wake up after the first time you said my name. Or is your temper just that _short_?"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT THEY COULD BE SWEPT UP BY THE JANITOR?"

"Brother!" Al cried. "Calm down!"

"No way! It's on!" Ed yelled and ran at me. My face paled, and I promptly jumped out the window.

And so the chase began.

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><p><strong>...Lol. Now can you see why I had so much fun writing this?<strong>

**So, review please! I'll reply to all that I can without spoiling anything x.x**

**.:~*-*~:. = Brief passage of time. It was fun coming up with that, too xD**

**Oh, and Bananna Bear, Emily Lightwood, Bankai the Moon, and shortysupreme, I'm pretty sure there's another Aladdin quote in here somewhere. If you can find it, I give you huggies.**

**EDIT: Here's the second thing. I'd like to see what you readers think of Jonathan. He is actually of importance to the plot, you know. He's not just there for comic relief. Tell me who you think he is. If you're right... I won't tell you xD**

**And another thing: who's your favourite homunculus? I'll tally up the votes from the reviews in this chapter ONLY, and they will eventually make an appearance. Not much of a reward, I know, but it'll be good. Trust me.**


	7. More Running and Smelly Stuff

**Geez, I take forever to update.**

**Sorry everyone for taking so long. I literally dragged myself through this chapter. It's kinda just filler with some mildly entertaining parts in it, but in the next chapter, there's actually going to be some action. **

**Enjoy... Chapter 7!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, I'd kill Wrath. **

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><p>I ran for my life, weaving between people on the streets and darting into alleyways to avoid Ed. He was still chasing me, even after ten straight minutes, and I couldn't help but laugh at his determination.<p>

"What the hell are you laughing at?" he yelled.

"You!" I said gleefully, turning my head to look at him just as he tripped over a garbage can. Cursing, he fell onto his face and I rounded a sharp corner onto a main street.

And crashed right into a military officer.

I swallowed hard and took a few steps backwards as the officer glared down at me. His face changed with the realization that I was probably just some kid that was running though the streets.

"You should be careful around here, kid. There are dangerous people out here." he pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and he looked over it, his eyes narrowing. "Would you mind taking your hair down, miss?"

_They've found me, _I thought. Terror coursed through me as I reached for the hair elastic, but Ed came up behind me and saved the day.

"What's going on here?" he asked. "Is this girl giving you trouble? I'm a State Alchemist. I can help." He pulled out a silver State pocket watch and showed it to the officer.

"No, sir." I half expected the man to snap to attention, but he remained still. "Both of you should watch yourselves. There are two dangerous criminals on the loose."

"Thank you for letting us know, officer." Ed said. "We'll be off now." He put a hand on my shoulder and steered me away. I let out an explosive sigh once we were out of earshot.

"They almost had me... That's three times I owe you my life."

"Eh, don't worry about it." Ed said, and then he smirked. "Dangerous criminal? Are you sure you weren't lying the first time I asked you?"

"Oh, shut up."I mumbled. "Let's get out of here before more military officers come along."

"Sure, whatever." Ed said, and added, "Miss Criminal." I punched him between the shoulder blades and he glared at me.

When I opened the door to the hotel room, I was almost decapitated by a flying wrench. I ducked as soon as I saw it flying at my head and it hit Ed in the chest. His breath came out in a startled _whoof,_ and he glowered at me.

"Why'd you duck?"

"Um, I don't quite like having my head removed, thanks." I said sarcastically. Winry was sitting on the couches, glaring at the both of us.

"Why did you two go off like that?" she questioned.

I sighed. "I didn't want to be beaten up by a runt." Winry nodded knowingly as Ed started to shout.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT THEY COULD USE A NAPKIN AS A BLANKET!"

"Oh, I don't know." I rolled my eyes. A collective sigh went through the room. "I'm hungry."

"And _now _she says it, _after_ we get back." Ed grumbled. "Just go."

"You expect me to find the food, how?" I tilted my head to the side and smiled evilly.

"Damn it, you're so frustrating."

"I'll take her down, brother." Al offered. "Jonathan, are you hungry?"

"Not particularly." Jonathan scratched the back of his head. "I probably will be by lunch." Al nodded and we left the room. I half expected something to come flying at my head, but Ed refrained from doing anything.

There were only a few people still at breakfast, and the food was almost gone. I plucked a few things from the buffet there and sat down at the table where Al was.

"Have you been out of the city since you left, Louise?" he asked. "Sorry, it's just that I haven't caught up much with you, since you and Ed have been yelling at each other all the time."

"No." I said simply. "It's not like I could just buy a train ticket and ditch everyone living at my house."

"Well, brother and I were thinking of going to Dublith, and we were wondering if you wanted to come with us."

"Dublith?" I put my fork to my chin thoughtfully and looked up at the ceiling. "That's in the south, right?"

"Yes." Al said. "We're going to visit a relative there." I frowned slightly; there was something in Al's words that didn't make much sense.

"You're from Resembool, right? And all your relatives are from there, am I correct?" I asked. Al nodded. "Liar. You have no relatives in Dublith. What's your plan?"

Al laughed sheepishly. "We thought that you'd be safer there, since you're being hunted here."

"Oh." I said, a little dumbstruck. They really cared that much? They barely knew me. "Well, I guess it'd be okay if I went... It's not like I have anything better to do."

"What about your, er, kids?"

"Oh, crap." I hissed. "Thanks for reminding me, Al. I'll be back in a few." I dashed out the door, ignoring Al, who was yelling at me to wait. I took off at a speedy walk through the streets, and it was only ten minutes later that I realized I was lost.

Damn it.

Sighing in aggravation, I tilted my head to the sky and tried to pick up a scent. Faintly, I could smell the kids somewhere, and I turned in a full circle until I could latch onto the smell.

"West." I announced, walking in that direction and getting several weird looks from the pedestrians around me. I kept following the scent, trying not to look to odd by keeping my nose down instead of in the air. When I finally reached the building I was looking for, I sighed with relief as I heard the low chatter of children inside.

"They made it." I said definitely. The building was falling to pieces- there were holes in the roof that had been patched up but still leaked, and it was horribly insulated. It was no colder or warmer than the old house. It was made of all wood painted a dark brown, so I reckoned it was once a barn. There were two large doors to prove my point, and they were currently open.

"Look! Its mama!" a kid squealed. Soon, I was being tackled by a large amount of kids, laughing and shrieking with delight. A few of the older kids came out and pulled them off and I took a few seconds to catch my breath.

"We thought you weren't coming back." Eric said.

"We thought the military caught you!" one of the pre-teen kids, Rose, said. "We were worried."

"I'm not dead yet." I reassured them. "I just came to check on you guys."

"You mean, you're leaving again?" Rachel pushed though the crowd and looked up at me.

"...Yeah. Come inside, everyone. I have something to tell you." I said. The kids filed inside the barn. They seemed to have made cots and stuff, and a couch from the old house had been hauled in. Barrels and pieces of aluminum, along with various other objects, were strewn about the inside of the barn. People perched on them, watching me intently.

"The military is after me," I began, "and I need to leave the city. I might be back here, but it's likely that I'll be gone permanently."

"But why?" one of the younger kids asked.

"I'm getting to that." I told them. "Before I lived in the old house, I met a man called the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother. The last time you saw me, I was with the alchemist's brother and being chased down by the military. I've been staying with them for the past week or so, and they've offered to take me to a city in the south called Dublith, where the military won't find me." I took a breath, not used to talking for this long. "I'm leaving you with all the money I have, but one of you might have to get a job to keep funding the... family."

"I'll take the job." Ryan offered.

"No, I'll do it. I don't do enough work around this place." Clay offered.

"I don't care who takes the job. Hell, you can both get one." I said. "I'll try and come back to you guys, but I don't know if I ever will. I promise that if I ever come back, I check on you as soon as I can."

"Don't leave!" Jacob cried. "We'll miss you!"

"Life's just not fair like that, Jake. I have to go. Oh, and you should probably stay here for a few months or so before you go back to the house. I don't... I don't want the military to find you. You'll be safe here- they don't know where you are."

"Hey, Louise!" I whipped around with my arm extended, ready to knock out whoever called my name. Instantly, every person in the barn scrambled behind something, ready to hide. I saw a panting Ed, along with Al, standing in the doorway.

"Stop running off like that!" Ed gasped.

"If it helps, I told Al where I was going." I said. "Guys, it's alright. You can come out now." Slowly, the kids peeked out from behind various objects and stood up. I heard someone wailing, and Amy came up to me, holding a baby. She handed him to me and I began rocking back and forth, whispering reassurances to the child.

"It's okay, Gannet." I soothed. "Nothing's going to hurt you." The little baby boy was indeed called Gannet. He was dark skinned with dark hair, and he _loved_ me. I could calm him down better than anyone else for some reason, and I grew attached to him. I guess he was kind of like a baby brother

"Woah." Ed breathed. "You... you've got a whole family here."

I turned to him, still rocking Gannet back and forth. "Yeah, I do. Is there a problem?"

"No." Ed said.

"Good." _I guess I should probably go before Ed tries to kill me and scares all the kids..._ "I'm going to leave now."

"But mama!"

"You can't!"

"It's not fair."

"Do I need to repeat myself?" I asked, trying to keep the cold tone out of my voice. "Life isn't fair. But, I promise, _promise_ that I'll come back to you when I'm in Central again."

Rachel and Dan came padding up, a worried look on their faces. Rachel's eyes were glassy, and I could tell she was holding back tears. _Damn it, don't make that face. You remind me too much of the other subjects..._I crouched down in front of them, shifting Gannet so he wasn't crushed.

"You're really gonna come back?" she asked. I nodded, offering a smile.

"Really, really?" Dan piped up.

"Yes, I've said that twice already." I grinned at them, and they smiled weakly back. "I need someone to take care of Gannet. Can you help me?"

Rachel's face brightened. "Yes!" I handed her the baby, warning her to be careful with him.

"You can ask the older kids for help, if you want." I said, hoping they'd take the hint. They both nodded with determined faces. I stood up and surveyed the group.

"Alright, guys." I said. "See you... whenever I see you." There were a few good-byes exchanged between the kids and me until Ed finally called me and said that we had to go. I took one last look at everyone there and turned, hoping they'd be okay.

"Those kids really looked up to you." Ed said. "You're like... their mom or something."

"I suppose." I hummed. "So, Dublith? What's the occasion?"

"Well, I'm tired of just sitting on my butt all the time, waiting for you to heal yourself." Ed said. "So, we're taking you to Dublith, where you'll be safe, so we can continue with our research."

"Oh, I feel so loved." I muttered. "But, I guess it's alright if you need to get your bodies back." _Well, it's more like "I wish I could help you guys instead of just being a dead weight and slowing you down," but that's okay too._

"Great!" Al said. "Now, let's hurry back before Winry starts wondering where we are." We hurried, as Al suggested, and thankfully no wrenches were thrown at us when we arrived back in the room. Winry was looking a little peeved, but she didn't seem to be in a violent mood.

"So, what are you three up to _now_?" she asked.

"I'd like to know, too," Jonathan piped up, "so I can get out of here when there's time."

"We're going to Dublith this afternoon." Ed said. "We've got tickets already. We'll be back by tomorrow."

"Today? I don't remember you saying anything about leaving today." I said.

"Well, yeah, we're leaving today." Ed snorted.

"I have to pack." I said.

"It's not like you have much." Ed smirked.

"Don't make fun of me because I'm poor!" I snapped. "We can't all be rich State Alchemists!"

"_Guys,_" Winry interrupted, "will you stop bickering now? It's giving me a headache."

"Yes, ma'am." Ed said. I rolled my eyes at him and stooped over to grab some clothes from my bag. I walked into the bathroom without another word and changed out of my slightly bloody pyjamas. I did the regular morning routine stuff (do I honestly need to describe this?) and walked back outside.

Ed, Winry, and Alphonse were talking. Jonathan was no longer in the room and I asked where he was.

"He left." Ed said simply. "And he said something along the lines of 'Thanks for saving my ass. I owe you one.' I wasn't really paying attention." He shrugged.

I blinked. "Well... that's weird." I sat down on the couches next to Al, where the only available seat was. Ed and Winry were on the opposite couch, arguing about something already. Al and I chatted about nothing worth mentioning until Ed finally declared that he was starving and needed food.

We went and ate, trying to keep the arguing to a minimum. I didn't eat anything; I wasn't really hungry since I ate only a couple of hours previously and I was good at keeping myself full for long periods of time. Al sat there patiently, watching Ed and Winry eat as I sipped on a drink of water. I wondered how he had the willpower to watch people eat and not be able to.

After two more hours of being bored and listening to Winry and the Elrics talk, it was finally time to get to the station for our train ride to Dublith. Winry bid us good bye at the front of the hotel and we lugged our bags to the station. Well, I was the only one really _lugging_ a bag, as Ed only carried a suitcase and Al carried himself. My bag weighed almost as much as I did, and I was under 80 pounds.

I was overwhelmed by the closeness of the station, and immediately started to feel claustrophobic. Everyone was so packed together and I lost sight of Ed and Al several times as we made our way to the train, which was fifty or so feet away from the entrance. Also, the smell of burning coal was not exactly a pleasure to my sharp nose. I tried to smother the smell with my shirtsleeve, but it didn't have much effect.

It got worse when we boarded the train.

We got the car at the very back, which was full, like the other ones. The thing that made the car so bad was the people in it. There was an old man with a smoker's hack, a lady with a baby that wouldn't shut up, and a family with two young children that kept arguing with each other. I covered my ears to muffle the sound, but it didn't do anything.

"Damn it," I mumbled, putting my bag over my head and curling up in a ball against the window.

"Are you okay, Louise?" Al asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'm _fine._ The amount of noise in here is not bothering me at _all._" I muttered. "As if I'm not motion sick already." I unzipped the zipper of my bag and stuck it on my head to drown out the noise. I could hear Ed snickering, even through an inch of fabric. I kicked him, injuring my foot as I hit his automail leg. He burst out laughing, and I stuck my head further into the bag. Finally, the noise became too overwhelming and I left the train car. I stood on the balcony at the end of the train, trying to enjoy the fresh air.

"It still smells like coal." I muttered. "But at least I don't have to listen to those people being loud anymore." I was out there for the remainder of the train ride, which was about two hours. We stopped at Rush Valley (which smelled like Winry; I almost puked over the end of the train because the smell was so strong) to let some people off and then continued on our journey to Dublith.

The train pulled into Dublith station, and I went back into the car to reunite with Ed an Al. They were staying in Dublith overnight then leaving in the morning, according to Al. It was around 8:00 when we arrived. I could see people stumbling drunk out of bars already. Cigarette smoke formed a thick haze of stink around me and I wrinkled my nose.

"Welcome to Dublith." Ed said.

"It stinks." I declared. "But I'd better get used to it, 'cause I'll be living here from now on."

"That's the spirit." Ed said. "Now, come on. We have to get to the place you're staying." A little shudder went through him and his brother, and I was suddenly worried about where I was staying.

Oh well. I'd have to suck it up.

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><p><strong>I was aiming for 3000 words for this chapter, and I got 3003 XD<strong>

**So, is anyone going to FanEXPO Toronto in August? I AM! And I'm going to the FMA panel. Vic Mignogna (I can't remember how to spell his name- don't kill me, fangirls), Caitlin Glass, Armstong's Voice actor (can't remember his name), Colleen Clinkenbeard, and Mike McFarlan are going to be there! And TOM FELTON FROM HARRY POTTER. And the author of a manga called Carciphona. I highly suggest looking it up.**

**I probably won't be updating for a while- I have final exams and a school trip to go on :/ But, then I'll have a MASSIVE amount of free time during which I'll write. Bear with me!**

**Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the mid-season finale of Doctor Who.**

**Typos? Questions? PM me or REVIEW!**

**See, down there? There's a magical button that says REVIEW. Please click it if you fave or subscribe to this story.**

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	8. An Interesting Enemy

**Fail. Once again I have forgotten to edit the author's note in before I post the chapter.**

**Okay, I have a few things to say, everyone. Firstly, about the Homunculus contest. The two votes I received said Envy, and he was already important to the plot. Although, your reasoning for choosing him/her/it was rather interesting...**

**The other couple of things will be in the author's note at the end. Oh, by the way, have you ever danced with a guy? It's awkward.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. And I am quite angry that no stores near me carry volume six.. -.-**

**This chapter is dedicated to the abused, be you adult or child. There's always hope!**

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><p>We walked through Dublith, and I did indeed get used to the smell. It was still disgusting, but tolerable after a while. Ed was almost oblivious to it as he led us through the streets. He seemed to know where he was going, and I really hoped he did. I wasn't in the mood for getting lost.<p>

We arrived at someone's door after a half hour or so of walking. There was a huge sign that said "MEAT" hanging over the door. I could smell blood and flesh coming from inside, and I wondered if the people I was staying with were serial killers.

"Here goes." Ed muttered, and rapped on the door. It swung open a second later to reveal a massive man with a scowl on his face. He was definitely over six feet tall and he had tons of muscle. He looked over each of us in turn, and I swallowed hard when his eyes passed over me. The butcher's knife in his hand and blood-splattered apron didn't help in making him less terrifying.

"Back already, boys?" he rumbled, patting Ed's head. I heard his neck crack. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Louise." Al said. "We've told Teacher about her already; she'll be staying with you for a while."

"Oh." The man said. "Come on in."

"Um, Al," I whispered as we walked through the door, "who the hell was that guy?"

"That was Sig Curtis. He's our teacher's husband." Al whispered back. "He's not as scary as he looks."

"Izumi's in bed. She's been sick lately." Sig said, pushing open another door. "She's not in a good mood either. Watch yourselves." Ed and Al let out what sounded like squeaks of terror and I almost laughed out loud. We stepped through the open door and into a bedroom.

A woman lay in the bed, propped up against a pillow and holding an open book in one hand. She had dark skin and dark hair that was braided into dreadlocks. It was held back from her face, which was scrutinizing the book in her hand. I assumed she was Izumi Curtis.

"Back so soon?" she questioned, not looking up from her reading.

"Yes, Teacher." Al squeaked. Izumi met Al's gaze and threw the book at Ed without any warning. The corner hit him right in the middle of his forehead, sending him to the ground with a cry.

I liked her already.

"You call me on such short notice, and then drop this girl on me?" she exploded. "No offense, dear." This was directed at me, and I hoped that she didn't have any more books hidden under the covers.

"None taken." I said.

"S-sorry!" Al stammered. Izumi glared at him.

"Never mind that." She said. "You three can stay in the spare room. You- Louise, was it- will be staying there. After they leave, of course."

"Yes, ma'am!" Ed and Al said sharply. I half expected them to snap into a salute, but they stayed put. After a quick conversation about something relating to Izumi's welfare, we left and went to the spare room. There were only two beds, but Al didn't sleep, so he let me have the other one.

"Oh, by the way, Louise, you missed dinner." Al informed me.

"Not hungry." I shrugged and flopped backwards onto my bed. "I'm used to being food deprived."

"Well, don't come crying to us when you're starving in the morning." Ed adopted the same position as me, but with a book in his hand. "We're leaving after breakfast tomorrow. Our train's at nine."

"Okay." I sat up and stared at the open window in the room. _It's tempting me..._ I thought, frowning. _Oh, alright, fine. I'll go._"I'm going out for a bit."

"Where to?" Al asked.

"Anywhere. I'm exploring." I grinned and slowly unfurled my wings.

"No, wait!" Ed stopped me from jumping out the window. "People will see you."

"That's a good point..." I scratched my chin thoughtfully. "But I'm good at keeping myself hidden. I'll avoid being seen."

"Yeah, but you could get... caught or something." Al protested. "There's some very bad people here, Louise. The Homunculi. Who knows what they could do after the catch you."

"I'll make sure to avoid them." I shrugged, rolling my shoulders. "Thanks for warning me, though. See you in an hour." I pushed off and flew into the sky to get away from the smell of smoke, vomit, and alcohol. It wasn't pleasant for humans, and it was even less pleasant for me.

Dublith was a nice city from the top because you couldn't see what was happening in the streets. At this time of night, it wasn't pretty watching the people walk out from the bars. I imagined it was a very quaint place once the day came around.

Something below caught my eye. One of the bars had its lights on, but no one was going in or out of it. I flew a little lower and tried to catch its scent: no alcohol, no cigarettes. I lowered myself to the ground a block or so away (so I didn't look like I just dropped from the sky) and began to walk to the bar.

Something grabbed me from behind and I jabbed my elbow into them, but it had no effect. A cloth was pressed over my mouth and nose, smelling overwhelmingly sweet. I knew not to breathe, but my lungs were going to explode if I didn't. I tried prying the cloth away, but strong fingers clamped it down. Finally, I gasped, inhaling the strange smell. I suddenly felt drowsy.

"Nice to see you again." said a voice I recognized all too well. "It's been a while."

Who?

Black.

.:~*-*~:.

I woke with the sweet smell still lingering in my nose. Someone had drugged me, and I struggled to remember who it was. There was something familiar about it...

Oh. It was the homunculus who broke my wrist a few months ago.

What was his name? Right. Envy.

I sat up, rubbing my temples. Everything had a thick haze around it, but I could tell whatever drug I had inhaled would wear off soon. Slowly, I took in the details of the room I was in. Gray cement walls, a wooden table and chairs, a bookshelf, and a bed. I was currently on the bed

The sweet smell was finally gone, and I sniffed the air. I could smell beer, wine, and cigarette smoke coming from above me, and the scent of people. I could smell the bland scent of a homunculus (I'd come to recognize it after my first encounter with Envy). There were three homunculi, each with a varying scent. One was kind of interesting- it smelled much like the interior of the Curtis's meat shop, except more... human. Odd.

I tried the knob on the door across the room. Locked. I should've guessed. I hoped there was a bathroom somewhere in my room/prison cell.

After a few minutes of boredom, the doorknob rattled and swung open, revealing Envy and the two other homunculi I'd scented. One was short, fat, and bald, with a finger stuck in his mouth. He had beady eyes that stared at me curiously. The other was of average height and _curvy_. She had long black hair and was outfitted in a low-cut black dress. She also sported an Ouroboros tattoo on her chest.

"Helloooo~!" Envy sang. I smirked at his odd behaviour. "Long time no see, eh, Subject Twelve?" I flinched a little at my old name. I was Louise now, and Subject Twelve was behind me.

"I go by Louise now." I said calmly. "And you're Envy, right?"

"Very good!" Envy clapped his hands slowly. "I guess the Fullmetal Pipsqueak told you who we are."

"Yes." I answered.

"Envy," the woman tutted, "how rude of you not to introduce us to Louise."

"Oh, right." Envy waved a dismissive hand. "This is Lust," he gestured to the woman, "and that's Gluttony." He pointed to the fat one.

"She smells good. Like chicken." Gluttony said in a high pitched voice. I snorted. "Can I eat her?" He looked up to Lust for permission, but she shook her head.

"This one's not for eating, Gluttony." She said.

"Now, back to the Fullmetal Pipsqueak." Envy interrupted. "Where is he? If you tell us, we might handle you a bit nicer."

"Handle me?" I questioned. "Are you taking me somewhere?"

"You're going back to the lab, kid." Envy smirked. I stiffened, every muscle in my back arching with a sudden fear. I was _not_ going back there. "Ooh, does that bother you, Birdie?"

"What are you going to do to Ed and Al if I tell you where they are?"

"They're coming with us. They're important sacrifices." Lust explained. I made up my mind right there. I wasn't telling them where the Elrics were. Whatever they were being sacrificed for couldn't have been good, and I didn't want to cause them any more trouble than I already had.

"And what if I don't tell you where they are?"

"Then you're going to hell, Birdie." Envy said. "And trust me, I won't make it pleasant. You'll be telling us, one way or another."

I sucked in a breath, scraping up all of my courage. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell you where the Elrics are."

"That's what I figured." Envy sighed. "Well, kid, you just dug your own grave." He moved and I had a split second to get to my feet and take a stance before he delivered a kick to my stomach. The weight of his foot seemed impossible and his strength was unbelievable. I collapsed, clutching my abdomen.

"So, are you rethinking your decision yet?" Envy asked, leaning towards me. I growled, and he laughed. "Okay, then. I'll just have to beat it out of you."

And he did indeed beat me.

I was kicked, punched, and kneed for the next few minutes. I couldn't fight against him: he was too fast for me to counter. I never spoke a word; the only things that came out of my mouth were cries of pain. I was pretty sure that Envy broke several ribs and possibly my entire left arm. He was yelling taunts the whole way through and trying to persuade me to tell him the Elric's location, but I didn't say. Blood trickled past my lips when he finally pulled away. I slumped against the wall, unable to move.

"Huh. You're one tough girl, Birdie." Envy shrugged and wiped some of my blood on the floor. "I'll be back again with the same question. Maybe you'll have some sense and tell us next time." He walked away and Gluttony hobbled up to me, one finger still in his mouth. He prodded me with one chubby toe and I groaned.

"She's all nice and tender now. Can I eat her?" he asked Lust.

"Gluttony, I told you already. She's not for eating." Lust sighed and brushed a stray hair from her forehead. "Now, come on. We're leaving." Gluttony shot me a disappointed look (like I cared) and walked off behind Lust.

"If you value your life," Lust said before she left, "I suggest you spit out whatever you know. Envy shows no mercy." The door closed and I heard it lock. I curled up in a ball and tried to draw my attention away from the immense pain I was in.

I don't know how long I was left in that room, but even in my delirium I could tell that it was a few hours at least. There was no clock in the room and I didn't have the concentration to count the seconds that passed. I just sat there, pulling together any strength that I had to stay conscious.

I must have drifted off sometime, because I was started into opening my eyes when the door creaked open. Envy stepped through the door with a bored look on his face. My wings flared out and I lunged at him, trying to land a solid hit to his face. He grabbed my wrist before I could fully initiate the punch and threw me against the wall. My back smacked into it and I slid onto the bed with a groan.

"I guess you haven't changed your mind, then." Envy said. "Oh well." He strode over and picked me up by the back of my shirt so that I was at eye level with him. I glared at him, that being the only thing I could do. My wings shrunk into my back, and I winced.

"Stubborn little brat." He muttered, throwing me to the ground. I yelped at the sudden explosion of pain. "You're asking for it." He kicked me in the stomach so hard that I flew and hit the back wall of the room. Another groan escaped my lips. Envy came up, about to kick me again, but suddenly stopped. He heard something, and I did too. The sound of someone yelling... no, several people yelling. And someone fighting. Faintly, I could smell someone over the reek of alcohol and smoke.

No way.

"Well, well," Envy chuckled, "looks like we don't have to go and _get_ the pipsqueak." Before he could deliver another blow, Ed slipped in the door, holding out his automail arm/blade. It was covered with blood, and he had some of the red liquid on him. He was panting, and he looked furious.

"Envy," he growled. "What the hell do you want with Louise?"

"Why, me?" Envy grinned. "What would I want with the Birdie?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Ed yelled. "I'm not an idiot. Why did you take her?"

Wow, I couldn't believe he actually came after me. He could have just left me, like he frequently reminded me he would, but he came to rescue me anyway.

Jerk.

"She _is_ a test subject, isn't she?" Envy sneered. "We're taking her back to where she belongs. She's going back to Lab Four."

"You're sick." Ed spat.

"I try." Envy said cheerfully. Ed lunged at him, automail blade extended. Envy danced out of the way. "Whoa, I'm not looking for a fight, pipsqueak."

"Don't call me a pipsqueak!" Ed yelled, jumping at Envy. The latter dodged and ended up on the opposite room, so that Ed was closest to me. I struggled to sit up and run while Ed had Envy distracted (selfish, I know), but I couldn't manage it.

Envy dodged a side sweep from Ed and stood in front of me. Ed came for another swing, and Envy grabbed me the same way he had earlier. He held me up in front of Ed, just as he was about to deliver a blow that surely would have decapitated me. Ed froze and glared at Envy.

"Bastard." He hissed.

"I know!" Envy said. He slowly moved across the room, using me as a hostage to keep Ed from attacking. He was almost at the door when a squad of police officers promptly showed up and shot him in the head. He dropped me and I landed painfully on the ground.

Then, a bullet popped out of Envy's forehead. He cracked his neck and turned to the police officers, who all had puzzled expressions on their faces.

"That wasn't very nice." Envy pouted. He launched himself at the officers and killed them all within a few seconds. I could hear their terrified and confused screams as they went down.

"Well, gotta dash, pipsqueak." Envy sighed. "Take good care of the Birdie. She'll need to be in tip top shape when we take her back." He ran away, down some unknown hall.

"Get back here!" Ed yelled, but Envy was already out of earshot. Then Ed finally remembered that I was lying on the floor, beaten. He rushed over and crouched down beside me.

"Geez, Louise." He said. "What the hell did that bastard do to you?"

I tried to say, "What does it look like?", but it came out as a groan. Ed tried to sit me up, but I shied away, then groaned at the pain again.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault." He muttered. "I should've left sooner-"

I reached out and grabbed his ankle, and he instantly shut up. "I... don't... want... to hear it." I managed. He sighed and shook his head. He propped me up into a sitting position, despite my protests, and picked me up piggy-back style.

"You have to stop throwing yourself into reckless fights." He sighed. "Let's get you home." I nodded off, too tired to do anything else.

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><p><strong>Sorry about the geez Louise. I just had too xD<strong>

**I really love Envy's childish side, and it was quite fun writing this chapter. Just a quick warning, I love killing my characters/making their lives miserable. Beware, there's more to come!**

**Hey, see that shiny button down there? It says review. If you're going to subscribe or fave this story, please review, too!**

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	9. Grocery Shopping and Apologetic Madness

**YES, SEIZE THE RAIN IS ALIVE! **

**... And listening to too much Vocaloid. Seriously, that stuff is AWESOME!**

**I'm (x10) sorry about the late update! I promised myself I'd update before I went on a two week vacation to my friend's cottage with Bananna Bear (if you like the Iron Fey series, check out her fanfic!), and then have two more chapters ready for you guys by the time I was back, but I LIED. I feel like such an idiot right now. I haven't updated in almost a month.**

**Yeah, so I was on vacation. I stayed up until midnight every day, and woke up at 9 XD We went tubing on the lake every day, and I have the scraped knees/elbows and bruises to prove it! It was awesome, and there was a lot of productive writing done (with pretty much every story I have on my laptop but this one), and several moments where we wrote drabbles about our OCs getting drunk ;/.**

**And thank you to everyone who reviewed while I was away! Heck, thanks to everyone who reviewed at all! I've surpassed 40 reviews, far more than I expected on my first fanfic. You get a kitten from Al for your hard work.**

** Without further ado, here is the long awaited chapter 9!**

**Disclaimer: I own a laptop, a phone, an iPod, and two retarded cats, but sadly, I do not own FMA.**

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><p>"<em>Run, little Subject!" a scientist ordered. I was already sprinting, trying to get away from the jabbing needles. I couldn't seem to keep them out of reach. They kept hitting their mark, piercing my skin and drawing crimson liquid, injecting foreign substances into my bloodstream.<br>"Faster, Twelve!" they jeered. I kept sprinting, trying to go faster, but I couldn't get away. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I forced my wings out and took off, but I didn't fly. Looking back, I saw my wings- no, a dead hawk- on the ground, covered in blood. I stumbled and fell on my stomach, too shocked and tired to move. A hand was brought down on my back, and I winced at the pain, but there was none._

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><p>I sat up, stiff as a board, and then fell forward because of the sudden pain in my ribs. Everything hurt. I felt like someone had run me through a meat grinder and reconstructed me, and it wouldn't have surprised me if that was what happened.<p>

"Louise! Are you alright? You should lie back down." Al's words came at me at rapid-fire, and a headache started to form. I obeyed, but it only brought more pain.

"Brother told me what happened." Al said worriedly. "You have to stop scaring us like that."

"Well, it won't matter anymore, anyway. You guys are leaving Dublith today..." _Or was it yesterday?_ I frowned, trying to tell if a day had passed or not. "How long have I been asleep?"

"All night." Al answered. "Sig patched you up the best he could. He said you should be at the hospital, but we told him no. They don't know about your... situation yet."

"Oh. Right." I rubbed the side of my head. There was a large bruise there. "Where's Ed?"

"Out somewhere. He's not happy. We missed our train back to Central."

"Sorry, I guess that's my fault." I sighed, suddenly tired again. "I'm going back to sleep. Let's see how long it takes for Ed to show up and yell at me."

"Okay. You just sleep; I'll make sure Brother doesn't wake you up." Al assured me. I sank under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

"...I don't care if she's still sleeping, Al! She's an idiot!"

I put my pillow over my head, not wanting to hear whatever Ed had in store for me.

"But, Brother! She needs to rest!" Al protested.

"Like I said, I don't care!" Ed burst through the door, and I tucked myself further under the pillow. "I know you're awake! Don't ignore me!"

"Ignoring." I muttered.

"Brother, please!" Al begged.

"Al, seriously!" Ed walked over to the bed. He even _smelled_ angry. "Why'd you go off like that without telling us where you were going, Louise?"

"I told you, I was exploring." I mumbled. "You don't really say where you're going when you're exploring."

"I would've thought your instincts would tell you to stay the hell away from that place." Ed growled.

"They did. But I was curious."

"You're such an idiot!" Ed kicked the side of the bed really hard, causing the entire thing to shake. Every wound I had received was jerked around, and I gasped. Pain exploded everywhere and I curled up in a ball to try and ward it off.

"Brother!" Al cried. "Look at what you did!"

"Way to go, dumbass." I hissed. I could feel blood somewhere along my body, probably a reopened cut or something.

"Just... don't do it again." Ed said, then walked out stiffly. There was an awkward moment of silence, and Al came rushing over.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." I muttered, sitting up slowly. "He's the idiot. I don't know what was going through his head."

"I guess that's Ed for you." Al sighed. "He makes rash decisions without thinking over them."

"I realized that." I said. "But, I'm sure going to kick his ass when I'm well enough too. And that won't be long." I smiled devilishly. Thank God chimeras heal fast.

"You'll be alright, then? Do you need anything?" Al asked.

"No." I said. "But you can tell Ed that the next time he comes near me, he'd better run for his life."

Al chuckled. "Okay, Louise."

"Al, do me a favour and go give your brother an earful." I said. "I'm getting some more sleep. Thanks to him, I feel like crap."

"No problem. You rest up." Al left the room, and I fell asleep again.

The next time I woke up, I was feeling way better. No one was in the room to disrupt me, and I could smell the fresh air over the scent of blood and... injury. Yeah, there's a smell for that.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and there was no pain. _Thank God chimeras have fast healing capabilities,_ I thought as I pushed myself to my feet. _And we're tough anyways. _My hip throbbed, but I ignored it and took a few steps. A little painful, but it was bearable.

The first thing I did was take a bath. I'd learned of the luxury of frequent bathing a long time ago, and I seriously needed a bath. I soaked for a while, pondering over what Ed would rant about when he saw me.

When I walked out into the kitchen, there was no sign of Ed or Al. Only Sig and Izumi were there, sitting at the table and calmly eating a meal. I didn't know what meal they were eating, but it didn't really matter. Izumi was flipping calmly through a newspaper.

"Where're Ed and Al?" I asked.

"Out." Izumi replied, not looking up at me. There was something dangerous in the tone of her voice. "You seem to be doing better."

"Yes, I'm feeling much better." I said carefully. Silence followed. Izumi continued to read and Sig was still eating, so I relaxed myself and started to walk over to the table.

A knife sliced through the air and I ducked. I could feel the blade whoosh right over my head and into the wall. I stood in an awkward half crouch, shaking with fear and shock.

"Don't ever go out without my permission again, or I will personally slice your head off with a teaspoon! Do you understand?" Izumi bellowed.

"Y-yes ma'am!" I stammered. Izumi exhaled, then proceeded to spew blood all over the table. I suppressed a yelp and watched as Sig grabbed at towel to clean it up. "Uh, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Izumi barked, and I flinched.

"Okay," I squeaked.

"The Elrics made a run to the general store. I'm sure you'll be able to track them down, what with your abilities and all," Izumi said. _She knows I'm a chimera? How?_ "When Ed dragged your sorry butt back here, I could see wings on your back. I know what you are, Louise. There's no sense hiding it."

"Right," I said, swallowing. "Uh, thanks for fixing me up."

"It was nothing," Sig rumbled. I walked out the door with a nod and went to find the Elrics. I caught Ed scent mixed with the tang of metal, and followed it to a general store a ways down the road. I quietly pushed open the door and spotted the brothers inside.

"Thank you," Ed said to the cashier, grabbing the bags of food off the counter. He turned around and when his eyes rested on me, he glared. I pulled on an emotionless mask, like I had done so many times at the lab, to hide the new fear of Ed reopening my wounds.

"Hi," I said nonchalantly. Ed walked stiffly past me, not caring to say anything, and I followed with a shrug. Al looked nervously back at me, but quickly turned forward, not wanting to face his brother's wrath. We walked silently back to the Curtis house.

Izumi and Sig were nowhere to be found, so we sat in the living room in silence. Ed glared at me, Al looked back and forth between us, and I didn't say a word. I crossed my arms and crossed one leg over the other, watching Ed with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you just going to sit here glaring at me all day, or are you going to say something?" I asked him, plainly annoyed.

"Why'd you do it?" Ed questioned.

"I already told you. I was curious," I replied simply. "And yes, my instincts told me to stay away. Haven't we already covered this?"

"You've delayed us by four days." Ed said sourly.

"I thought you were leaving me behind." I said

"We _were._" Ed said. "And then we decided not to."

"Oh, are you getting protective of me now?"

Ed's cheeks went a little pink. "We can't have you dying every time you go off on your own. You'll be safer with us."

"So you _are_ getting protective of me."

"Shut up!"

"Why should I?"

"Because I told you so!"

"You two are worse than an old married couple," Al said, exasperated. "Would you please quiet down?"

"Ed, listen to your brother."

"You're being loud too!"

"I am not!" I scoffed. "Who's the one shouting?"

"You!"

"Oh, for the love of baked beans," I muttered, not able to say anything else.

"What was that?" Ed asked scathingly.

"I said: 'Will you shut up, please'?"

"You little-"

"Brother, please!" Alphonse cried, grabbing his brother before he could leap at me. I smirked. "You've already opened her injuries once! You don't need to do it again!" Ed leaned back into the couch, the anger in his eyes residing to a dull smoulder.

"And not an apology in sight," I muttered. Settling back into the chair I was in, I stared at the wall, memorizing the patterns in the paint.

"I'm sorry." Ed said suddenly, the hue of his cheeks changing to a deep red. "For kicking you earlier."

"You'd better be. It hurt." I said. I realized that he was trying to get me to apologize too. "And I'm sorry for running off like that."

"You'd better be." Ed mimicked, smiling slightly and playing along. "It scared us."

"Well, Edward Elric, apology accepted." I said, grinning cheekily. "So... where are we going now?"

"We're leaving for Central tomorrow, to give you a bit more time to rest up." Ed said.

"Great, another train ride," I mumbled.

"Don't complain. We're saving your butt here." Ed said with the tone of a mother scolding her child.

"Fine." I said. I stood up abruptly and hissed when pain burst through my ribs. Doubling over, I clutched the injured area and gritted my teeth.

"Are you alright?" Ed asked.

"I'm fine," I gasped. "These injuries will carry with me for awhile, even with my healing abilities." I stood up, rubbing my side to get the pain away. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Probably about three o' clock." Al estimated. "You can go have another nap if you want."

I shook my head. "I'm going to get something to eat. I'm starving." Although I wasn't really that hungry, my body needed sustenance. I quickly raided the Curtis's kitchen and settled on a nice red apple. The Elrics had retreated to their room by the time I got back, so I went back to mine, finished my apple, and went to sleep.

The next day, we boarded our smelly train to Central. It was packed with people, just like last time, but it didn't bother me much. I was starting to adapt to things quickly, despite spending most of my life in one place. I sat patiently on the train with Ed and Al, sleeping occasionally and waiting for the train ride to end.

I stepped out of the train station and inhaled the fresh air, welcoming the scent of the city. Actually, welcoming anything but the smell of the train. We started to walk back to the hotel where Winry was waiting for us, a slight spring in all of our steps.

Little did we know about the surprise that awaited us next...

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><p><strong>Ooh, a cliffhanger! *gasps*<strong>

**Lame-ass cliffhanger...**

**Sorry about the length of this chapter. I just wanted to get it over with. Seriously. There is a lot more epic stuff to come! And some CANON MATERIAL! OH EM GEE~!**

**I would like to recommend a fanfic to you. It is called 'What Resides Within." Look it up. It's hilarious. And I have just realized that I am subscribed to so many FMA fanfics that I can't even remember half of them -.-;;**

**See that blue hyperlink down there? Yeah, that shiny one with Nyan Cat attached to it? (for those of you who don't know what Nyan Cat is, look it up on youtube). Yeah, click it and you'll get a Pop Tart. **

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**Oh, and listen to Vocaloid, too. **


	10. A Truth Revealed

**Hooray for a faster update than last time!**

**So... a few milestones this chapter. Not only is it chapter 10, but I have 50 FREAKING REVIEWS! Thanks to you all, dear readers, for reading and reviewing! And, just to let you know, I look at the profile of every reviewer (I'm not a stalker, just bear with me here) and quite often read their fanfictions, as long as there about something I know. So a review may lead to another review... :P And you subscribers and favouriters (Canadian spelling of favourite, FTW. I am Canadian, just so you know) are awesome too!**

**I don't know when my next update will be, since I'm kinda busy with camp and stuff.**

**Oh yeah, and I accidentally reposted chapter nine, so if you get two notifications in your email, this is the right one. My bad.**

**Without further ado, chapter 10 (from my lame cliffhanger from last week!)!**

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><p>We found Winry wandering around outside of the hotel. She was probably waiting for us. When she saw me, a puzzled expression came over her face, but it quickly disappeared.<p>

"Hi, guys!" she said cheerily. "Glad to see you back safely."

"Yeah, whatever," Ed muttered. "Anyone give you trouble?"

"No, not at all. Why?"

"Nothing important." Ed said. "Old Man Fu and Lan Fan are still looking for Ling, huh?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't speak gibberish. What are you talking about?" I asked flatly. Ed sighed dramatically.

"Fu and Lan Fan are two warriors from Xing. Along with them came a guy called Ling Yao, a prince from Xing," Al explained.

"Xing. Xing, Xing, Xing." I repeated the word a few times. "Why do I know that name?"

"It's the country to the east," Winry said. "How do you _not_ know?"

"She did _say_ she was homeless, remember?" Ed's lips parted in a smirk. "She hasn't really had any education."

"Are you implying that I'm stupid, Edward?" I asked, not looking at him.

"Maybe."

I turned and kicked his legs out from under him, letting out a yelp as my shin made contact with his metal leg. I was successful at knocking him to the ground, but there would be a huge bruise on my leg afterward.

"Hey!" The blonde objected.

"Jerk," I retorted, sticking my tongue out. He glared at me.

"Young Master!" the man called Fu shouted. "Where are you?" I couldn't see him until I looked up, where he was standing on some piping overhead. I could see the girl Lan Fan, too. Both of them were wearing odd masks. Fu had grey hair and I couldn't tell what colour hair Lan Fan had because it was concealed by a hood.

"He's in trouble again. He's collapsed, I'm sure of it!" Lan Fan said, her voice carrying nothing but distress. I raised an eyebrow.

"Okay," Ed said. "Guess we should stop by the military offices first."

"Right," Al agreed, nodding.

"In that case, I think I'll head straight to the Hughes's house and let them know I'm in town." Winry said with a smile. "I can't wait to see Mrs. Gracia and cute little Elicia!"

"All right, I'm lost," I muttered.

"Sounds good. We shouldn't be all that far behind you." Ed said.

"'Kay! See you later!" Winry said, and ran off. "Oh, Louise, do you want to come? I'm sure you'd love Elicia!"

"No thanks," I replied. "I think I'll stay with Ed and Al."

"Okay. Good bye!" With that, she jogged off.

"I wonder if Lieutenant-colonel Hughes has put together any more information on the Philosopher's Stone since we left," Al said.

"The Fuhrer was pretty clear with his orders regarding that," Ed replied. "I think it's best that we give Hughes the information that we found out first."

Al turned to face his brother. "The Homunculi."

"Yeah," Ed said darkly. "I'm pretty sure Hughes said he was in the court martial office."

"I'm still lost," I said, my voice rising above Ed's. "Who's Hughes? And why does he need to know about the Homunculi?"

"Maes Hughes is a good friend of ours," Al explained. "He works for the military. He's friends with Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, who is also a fr-"

"Never mind about Colonel Bastard. This way!" Ed ran off and we both followed him.

"Yes, just don't inform the little Subject, why don't you," I muttered, jogging up behind Ed and grimacing at the pain in my ribs.

"Stop complaining. We're almost there."

"I wasn't complaining about it taking too long, dumbass. Can't you hear anything I say?"

"Guys, please." Al interrupted. "You don't need to start killing each other."

"It's not like I wanted to."

"You started it!" Ed argued.

"Brother!" Al cut his sibling off and we continued on our way.

The Central military building was a big old white thing with pillars and a wrought-iron gate and such. I didn't see why it was so fancy, it just contained documents and stuff, but maybe security needed to be tight.

We jogged past an empty phone booth and I caught the faint tang of blood, but thought nothing of it._ Probably just a stray cat with a squirrel or something,_ I thought. _Oh well._

We passed through the doors of the military building without a hitch because of Ed's State Alchemist license. It was quite convenient having that little pocket watch of his. It was a shiny pocket watch, too. I made a mental note to get a better look at it later.

"Huh?" Ed said, interrupting my thoughts. "Lieutenant Hawkeye?" I looked up to see a blonde woman in a military uniform clutching some documents to her chest. She had a sad look on her face. She looked up from the floor and smiled.

"Hey, guys. It's been a while." She said. Ed's expression changed to thought.

"If the lieutenant's here, that means so is-"

"Thanks for waiting."

Ed made a noise that sounded like _BLEARGH._"Yep, the colonel." He said. A man stepped out from behind Lieutenant Hawkeye. He had jet black hair and dark eyes. He could've been my (much) older brother if we stood next to each other.

"Well, hello, Fullmetal." He said, like it was a surprise to see him.

"Colonel Mustang, what're you doing here in Central?" Ed asked, his anger carefully controlled.

"You didn't hear?" Mustang asked. "I was transferred to this branch last month."

"_Great,_" Ed said sarcastically.

"And you guys? What brings you here?" Mustang's eyes rested on me. "You and your friend."

"It's Louise," I said. "Nice to meet you."

"We're just doing a little information gathering," Ed explained. "And we were thinking we'd pay Lieutenant-colonel Hughes a visit a little later today." Mustang jerked back a bit, but Ed wasn't looking. A sudden bad feeling came over me. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Not here," Mustang answered in a careful voice.

"Huh?"

"He retired out into the country and took his wife and daughter with him to take over the family business." Hawkeye gave the Colonel a look. "So, he's not here."

"I see," Ed said a little sadly. "Well, that's too bad."

"We were hoping to see him," Al said. The colonel turned around and walked a few steps, then stopped.

"Fullmetal," he addressed the young alchemist.

"Hm?" Ed looked up.

"Watch yourself." The colonel advised. "Don't do anything crazy."

"...Okay." Ed said, puzzled. The colonel walked away, and Hawkeye followed him. We were left standing awkwardly in the hallway, watching them go.

"Well, that was pleasant," I said. "I was actually looking forward to meeting this Hughes guy. Too bad he retired."

"I can't believe Hughes is actually gone," Ed said.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Brother!" Al said suddenly. "We need to tell Winry about all this." Ed looked up at Al. "She went straight to the Hughes's house."

"Yeah, you're right," Ed said. He turned in the opposite direction and started to run until he crashed into something. I snickered. Ed looked at the obstacle, startled.

"Lieutenant Ross!" he said. The woman before us was also military, with short cropped black hair and a mole just under her left eye.

"I haven't seen you two here in a while," she said pleasantly, a smile on her face. "You're in a hurry. Why the rush? And who's your friend?"

"Louise," I introduced myself for the second time.

"We picked her up a while ago," Ed said. "We just heard about Lieutenant-colonel Hughes." Ross's face fell. The sudden realization came over me, confirming my suspicions about Hughes. He hadn't retired.

"Yeah. It's rough news, huh." She said sadly. I looked over to Ed and bit my lip, seeing if he'd caught on.

"There was still so much we wanted to tell him about," Ed said, his mouth forming a little smile. _Stupid as ever,_ I thought.

"We would've liked to say goodbye," Al agreed. _Oh, him too? I thought that at least _Al_ would've figured it out!_

"We weren't able to reach you," Ross said. "Don't worry, though. The military gave him a proper send-off."

"Wooow, that was nice." Ed said, thinking the military overshot their farewell a bit. I looked frantically between him, Ross, and Al.

"That's how it's done," Ross said sadly. "Also, if you three haven't heard already, I'm sure you'll both be glad to know he was promoted. Two whole ranks."

Ed was astonished. "To Brigadier General?"

"He retired to the country and they promoted him?" Ross let out a shocked gasp as Al was speaking. I winced. Ross covered her mouth with both hands and looked between the brothers. Ed's face showed the realization slowly dawning on him, but he didn't appear to get it yet.

"Lieutenant Ross?" he questioned. She was shaking a little bit. Then Ed's eyes widened and he put the puzzle together in his mind. He walked up to Ross.

"No! Not the lieutenant-colonel!" His voice was high with grief. "Why him?"

"Brigadier General Hughes is dead." Ross explained. "He was murdered shortly after you were discharged from the hospital, Edward." _Hospital? Discharged? When was that? _"I'm afraid we still haven't found the person responsible."

There was a moment of silence, and Ed sprinted out of the building, leaving me and Al to take care of his suitcase. Well, actually just Al because I ran out right after him, making sure he didn't go kill himself.

"Brother!" Al called after him. "Louise!" But Ed just kept running.

"Ed! Wait up! You have to calm down!" I yelled, but I knew he couldn't hear me. He turned into an alley and ran most of the way down, then slowed to a stop with one hand on the wall, panting. I came up behind him and cautiously put a hand on his shoulder.

"Ed, you're overreacting." I said. "I know what it's like to lose a... a loved one. You don't need to think it's your fault." I felt a twinge of grief for this Hughes guy. He must've been a good man for Ed to break down over him. _If there's a God out there, make sure Hughes rests in peace,_ I thought.

_If there is a God out there, he would've done me mercy and killed me a long time ago._

Al caught up to us and Ed sank down into a crouch, a whimper-like sound coming from his throat. I was reminded of when I watched Subject Two get pulled out of her cage, making the same sound. My head throbbed at the memory and my heart twisted. I crouched down beside the distressed alchemist.

"Ed, I know how you feel, but you have to pull yourself together. You're getting worked up over something that isn't your fault. You don't need to do this." I soothed.

"You don't understand! He got dragged into this mess because of us, Louise!" he snapped.

"Well, the least you could do is stop being a baby about it. He wouldn't want you to act like this over him." I said, trying not to sound angry. "Trust me. I know your mom died, but I've watched my entire family get taken away from me. You don't have it bad." Ed had nothing to say to that. He simply stood up and looked ahead. "Are you done?"

"Yeah," he answered. "Thanks."

I smirked. "Any time." I paused. "Now we have the problem of breaking the news to Winry." Silence.

"...Yeah," Ed said. "She'll probably be with the Hughes's. We should..."

"Go," Al agreed. "Come on, Louise. We'll lead the way."

"You're not going to break down too, are you Al?" I asked mischievously.

"I hope not," the armoured boy replied. We began walking again, this time towards the Hughes residence. Ed and Al led me and I followed like an obedient dog (apt, considering I was technically part dog). When we arrived, the brothers stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"What do we do?" Al asked.

"We tell it like it is," Ed said, no tone in his voice. "You go on back. I'm the only one who has to take the blame for what happened."

"Brother, this isn't just your problem. It's both of ours," Al said. _Yay, leaving me out of the conversation again, _I thought. "Like it or not, I'm going in with you."

"And me too," I piped up. "I'm kind of stuck with you guys. You wouldn't just leave me out here in the street, would you?" _Although it's probably a pretty appealing thought to you, _I thought blandly.

"Thanks Al, Louise," Ed said, "but you really don't have t-"

"We made up our minds. We said we were getting our bodies back, no matter what." Ed turned at his brother's words and gasped. "But if people are going to die because of that, then I don't want mine back." Ed was silent, his intense golden gaze boring into Al. Then he turned back to the stairs and started walking towards the door.

A woman with brown hair and green eyes opened the door to the apartment, and I assumed she was Gracia Hughes. A shocked look came over her face at first, but then she smiled. She turned into her house.

"Winry's already here," she said in a kindly voice.

"Right," Ed nodded and we walked in. Winry was sitting on a couch, clutching a little girl (probably Elicia) tightly in her arms.

"Winry," Ed said, and the distressed girl looked up. They exchanged a glance, and I could see that Elicia was sleeping. "Um, Mrs. Gracia? I'm sorry, but there's something I need to talk to you about, if I may."

"About Maes?"

"That's right." He looked to his best friend. "You too, Winry." The girl stared at Ed and blinked a few times, then nodded. Winry carefully handed Elicia to her mother and the woman sat down, along with Al, Ed and I. After a quick introduction between me and Gracia, Ed began to explain how Mr. Hughes had found out things about the Philosopher's Stone, and how it put him in so much danger that he had to be killed.

"So Maes learned things about the Philosopher's Stone that someone didn't want him to know." Gracia summarized. "His death was a message, a warning to you from whoever did it to back off from all this." The brothers simply sat there.

"Yeah, we basically dragged him into it," Ed's voice was thick with grief. He clenched his hands, his head hanging . "I'm sorry." His breathing shook and he shut his eyes tight and gritted his teeth. "So sorry!" Winry looked over at the almost sobbing Ed. His entire body was shaking, and I could feel the couch shifting with every shudder.

"That would be just like him, dying while trying to help somebody else." Gracia spoke, and everyone looked up at her words. "My husband. He always was a busy-body and a meddler, and it got him into trouble, a lot. But, you know, I don't think he ever had regrets. Not any. Not even in his dying moments, Edward." Ed clenched his teeth again.

"But we..."

"Don't tell me you're going to give up. You can't let what happened defeat you. If you do, then that means my husband died in vain."Gracia smiled, a kind, motherly smile that almost made me jealous that I had no parents. "Even if the Philosopher's Stone is a dead end, there might be some other way."

"Maybe, I guess," Ed said quietly.

"You boys have to keep moving forward, any way you can." Gracia said with finality.

"She's right, Ed," I said quietly. "You can't let this slow you down. I didn't." I hoped he knew that I meant the deaths of the other subjects. He looked up and gave me a sad, insincere smile. I put a hand on his shoulder and we exchanged a few more words with Gracia, then left the house with Winry.

Ed slowly closed the door behind him and looked to the three of us, his face blank but his eyes holding devastation. Then, we heard a young girl's voice on the other side of the door.

"Mommy?" We all looked at the door. "Mommy, please don't cry." Gracia's sobbing reached my ears and I was reminded with a pang of Rachel. I watched Ed's face twist with sadness, then turned to leave.

"We should go," I said, "before this gets any worse." Al nodded in agreement and we set off into the sunset.

We walked to the hotel in silence, each swimming in our own thoughts. Winry trailed slightly behind Al, and I walked behind her. Apparently, Hughes was quite the smart man, so he must have figured out something big. Something to do with the Philosopher's Stone and the country of Amestris. I thought it over, trying to take on the mind of a crazed scientist, but I couldn't put my finger on anything.

Winry gave a sad smile and walked into her room. I followed the Elrics, not wanting to have to put up with the smell of automail after a stressful day. I was tired of all the sadness and grief, even though I felt some myself.

We all went to our separate places for brooding. Al sat on a stool/chair thing in the hotel room, and I sat on a bed, fingering the feathers on my wings, which I had pushed out. Winry was in her room, alone, and I couldn't tell what she was doing. Ed was downstairs eating, but I doubted that he would consume any food.

"Al?" I asked, breaking the silence. There was a creak as the boy turned to look at me as I stood by the window. "I'm going for a quick fly, okay? I promise I won't do anything stupid." I opened the window, lighting up the nearly pitch black room, and got ready to push off. "And tell Ed when he gets back... I'm sorry."

With that, I flew off into the darkening sky, trying to just get away from it all.

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><p><strong>GODS THAT WAS DEPRESSING.<strong>

**So, yeah... Hughes is dead His death scene, his funeral, and the part where Elicia tells her mom not to cry made me cry... If you didn't cry at one of those, then you're either really tough or really cruel XD I make joke. See, it's funny, right?**

**I'd like to know, what do you think of this story? I'll set up a poll on my profile for you guys to answer. **

**Now, back to watching Soul Eater!**

**See that blue thing down there? Yeah, right at the bottom of this page in the center. If you click that button, you'll go into the world of rainbows and unicorns and Candy Mountain Chaaaaaarlieeee...**

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	11. Breaking Up and Getting Back

**Why hello, dear readers! Thank you for getting me past 60 reviews! **

**Sorry for such a late update. I've been busy and without internet access for a while. I give you a brand spanking new chapter, full of arguments, coarse language (yes, that was a warning. Remove all small children and/or parents from room), and hinted pairings.**

**I won't be updating very frequently now, as SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW. For me, at least. EURGH. Ah, what a grade this will be... I'll leave it up to you to guess my age. I'm not telling anyone (Bananna Bear, MeevieRae, don't you dare!)**

**On other notes, I have a whole bunch of Vocaloid and Fullmetal crap on my iPod now. And a new idea for a fic that I had in the shower (isn't that where all good ideas are birthed?) **

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. Still.**

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><p>When I returned from my flight, Ed was back in the room. He didn't say anything when I flew in the window, just looked up at me miserably. I didn't even bother to console him; he could get over it by himself.<p>

I leaned back onto the extra bed and replayed the day. I'd never seen Ed so weak before. Maybe he does have feelings, I thought. Maybe he's not just a jerk who wants to kill me, as much as I want to believe that.

"It's been quite the day," I said, breaking the silence in the room. Both of the brothers looked up at me. They both looked so... sad. Even Al, whose face I couldn't see, seemed down. They both seemed fragile, like their composure would break at any moment. It hurt a bit, seeing them so depressed. "Guys..." I said, struggling for words. "Don't let it get to you, alright? It's hard on others when they see you like this." I offered them a small smile as I sat up.

"Louise," Ed said after a while of silence.

I looked over at him. "Yeah?"

"What was it like when you found out that the other subjects were dead?" Ed's voice cracked all over the place as he spoke. The question hit me full in the face and it took me a moment to scrape up an answer.

"Brother," Al warned.

"It's alright," I said. "Before I left the Lab, I didn't really have any feelings except fear, pain, and exhaustion. Then, I was just Twelve, a person used as an experiment. I had no purpose other than that, so I didn't need to feel anything. But I felt. Learning about their deaths... sure, it was painful, but I got over it. They were my family, and it was hard losing them. But, they're gone, and there's nothing I can do about it." I took a deep breath before venturing further. "It's the same with Hughes. He's gone. You can't bring him back. You just have to deal with it."

"I know," Ed said. "It's just so hard to cope with."

"You'll get over it," I said. "Just... uh, get some sleep. You'll feel better."

Yeah, like he'd be sleeping any time soon.

"...Alright. Thanks, Louise."

"For what?"

Silence.

"G'night," I grumbled, curling up under the bed sheets and turning my back to the world.

.:~*-*~:.

Winry was in the room the next morning, silently scrubbing Al's back with a cloth, cleaning the dirt off him. Ed was on his side on the other bed in the room, staring out the window. It was late morning by the looks of it, probably almost noon. No one spoke for a long time.

"When you look close, you're all scratched up, aren't you," Winry said, her voice heavy with sadness. "You're having a rough time of it, huh?" Al chuckled nervously. Winry stopped scrubbing Al's back and turned to Ed, who didn't make any move to turn around and talk to her. I sat up groggily and looked around. "Good morning, Louise."

"Morning, guys," I mumbled.

"So," Winry said to Ed, "what have you got planned now?" The young alchemist didn't reply. "Well, Ed?"

There was a pause where Ed lifted one hand off the mattress. "What _are_ we going to do?" He clenched his automail hand into a fist. Winry turned back to Al. "What do you think?"

The mechanic turned back around, giving Ed an astounded look.

Ed flipped over onto his back. "What's with the face?"

"I-I'm just surprised. You've never asked for my advice before."

"That's a surprise," I snorted under my breath. Ed made sure to glare at me over his shoulder before looking back at the other two.

"Oh," Ed said intelligently. Winry put her hand on the back of Al's neck.

"I'm scared, you know?" Winry said. "You and Al have been off somewhere fighting and digging up information. Information that could get you killed like Mr. Hughes." Ed didn't react. "Whenever I think about that, it terrifies me. I mean, you could die. I'd still be here, and you'd just suddenly... not be there anymore. Like my mom and dad."

I feel the same way, I wanted to say, but it would only add to the grief. My family's gone too. And if Ed died... well, I honestly wouldn't care that much, but it would be sad for a lot of people.

"It's almost more than I can handle," Winry went on, "thinking about that. Honestly, sometimes I wish you would just give this whole thing up. I do want you to get your bodies back, but I also want you to stay alive and safe. It's just... I don't know." She was quiet for a moment, then she looked back at Ed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what I think you should do. I really don't know."

Al giggled. "You're sure being nice, Winry."

"Wow, Al. Way to kill the mood," I muttered. Winry did a weird twitchy thing and whirled on Al, blushing furiously.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" she squeaked. "I'm always nice! Take that back!" She started hitting Al, and he objected, trying to fend her off with his hands. Ed just looked at them and smiled. I watched, amused, as the two went at each other.

But Ed was right. What are we going to do now? I thought. Things seem to have calmed down, so maybe I'll go back to the kids or something. Or maybe I can tag along with the Elrics for a while. I scrunched up my face. Never mind. The thought of spending more time than necessary with Ed disgusts me.

"Louise, what're you making that face for?" Ed asked. I looked over at him.

"Oh, I was just thinking about how I should probably leave. There's no sense in tagging along with you guys any more if I don't have to. I feel like a burden," I replied. Ed stared at me.

"And..." he gestured for me to go on.

"And how I don't want to spend any more time with you. You in particular," I said nonchalantly, taking particular interest in a cuticle on my index finger.

"Hey!" he objected.

"Glad to see you're back to your old self," I smirked. "No, scratch that. I liked the other version."

"Shut up!" Ed exploded. "Why do you have to act like I'm the worst thing in the world?"

"Because you're fun to irritate. And it's part of my personality."

"Yeah, well what about last night with that sappy thing about the other Subjects, huh? Was _that_ in your personality?"

I stood up abruptly and glared at him. "Low blow, dickhead. Don't even go there! I've told you once, and I'll tell you again: _don't mock them!_"

He stood up too, towering over me by a few inches. "Yeah, well, you always mock me, so why can't I return the favour?"

"What if I said that your mom was a prostitute? How would you feel then?" I retorted.

"My mother was _not_ a prostitute!" Ed roared.

"Exactly! That's how it feels when you insult them!"

"Ed, Louise, please stop arguing!" Al interrupted. We both turned our heads sharply and glared at him.

"Shut up!" we ordered, then looked back at each other. "Stop copying me!"

Al sighed. "Do I have to separate you two?"

"Other Subjects? What do you mean?" Winry asked.

"Oh, great, Ed," I sighed. "You blew it. I trusted you to at least keep _that _a secret."

"That's practically like trusting me with your life! If you hate me so much, why do you trust me with anything?"

"Who else do I have to trust?" I said, gesturing to the general area of everywhere. Al came up and pushed me away from his brother by the shoulder.

"_Please stop arguing,_" he ordered firmly.

"You know what? I was just going to leave anyway, to go back to my _family_," I said, glaring daggers (really sharp, poisonous daggers aimed at his eyes) at Ed. "Thanks for the hospitality." With that, I gave Ed the finger, grabbed my bag, stalked out the door and slammed it shut behind me. I walked out to the streets and starting to navigate my way back home.

"Stupid, mother-effing jerk of a State Alchemist military dog," I muttered.

But I didn't say "effing." To hell with covering it up in front of small children.

I piddled around Central for a while, absolutely lost. I couldn't track the scent of the kids, so I settled with finding another place to stay. I had no money (well, none that I could rent an apartment with) and no place to go. I sat down on a park bench, sighed, and ran my hands down my face.

"Geez, Twelve, what are you going to do with yourself?" I muttered, looking up. Across the park, through the trees, I swear I saw a flash of curly blonde hair. I stood up and tried to get a look, but the head disappeared before I could find it again.

_Four?_ I thought.

"Hey," someone said. I looked over to see Jonathan strolling up to me.

"Small world," I muttered.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be with the Elrics or something?"

"We had a little... misunderstanding," I muttered. "Ed was... going places he wasn't supposed to."

"Oh," Jonathan said, then a look of realization dawned on his face. "_Oh._"

"Not like that, dumbass!" I hissed. "He just pushed the wrong buttons."

Jonathan smirked. "Oh, I see." He sat down on the bench and I followed suit. "So, do you need a place to stay?"

"Yeah, I guess I do," I said.

"You can come stay with me for a while if you want," Jonathan offered. "We have a spare room."

"Oh... that's nice. Thanks," I said.

"I live a couple blocks down. It's not a far walk," he said.

"Cool," I said. "Let's go." We stood up and started walking down the road.

"How's your arm?" Jonathan asked.

"Perfectly fine," I said, flexing it. "I didn't really need the sling, though."

"You should have kept it. I can't have my first patient disobeying orders," he said, winking at me.

"I was your first?" I asked. He nodded. "Oh, I feel all warm and fuzzy now."

"You're really sarcastic, you know that?"

"_Nooo," _I said, rolling my eyes. "I never noticed!"

"Oh, look, we're here," he said. We stood in front of a small, light blue townhouse. Jonathan pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. "No one's home right now. Your room will be upstairs, first door on the left."

"Thank you," I said. "Really, thanks."

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No, I kind of just woke up and booked it."

"Oh, alright. We have some leftover eggs, if you want some."

_Wouldn't that be considered cannibalism?_ I thought. "Eggs sound great."

Jonathan set a plate down on the kitchen table and I sat as he did. "Just to let you know, my family is kind of insane. My mom's a huge believer in God, and my dad's an alchemist, so he's an atheist. It's a miracle that they're still married. My little brother is really annoying, so watch out."

"How old is he?"

"Ten."

"I can handle it," I smirked, putting a piece of egg in my mouth.

"Really?"

"Trust me, I can handle a lot," I said. _Well, a lot, save anything relating to the other Subjects..._My mind flashed back to Ed, and I wanted to rip his head off.

"So, what happened between you and Ed?"

_Oh, you have _lovely_ timing, Jonathan._ "We just got in an argument about some... stuff. I left because I was pissed. It's not a big deal."

"You make it sound like you're his girlfriend or something."

"Don't say that," I said sharply. "I am not, and never will be, his girlfriend."

"Alright, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. Although," he put a finger to his mouth in thought, "you would be cute together." I kicked him hard under the table and he groaned in pain.

"Say that again and it'll be your balls," I warned.

"You're really violent," Jonathan muttered.

"Whatever," I said. I picked up my plate and put it in the sink. "First room on the left, right?"

"Yeah," Jonathan said, rubbing his leg.

"I'll be in there if you need me," I said, then went upstairs. There was a bunk bed in my room, so I plopped down on the bottom bunk and laid there for the rest of the day. At some point, I heard Jonathan explaining my situation to his parents, who seemed okay with it. Then, way later in the day, some time before dinner, there was a _thunk_ as something hit the front door. Curious, I grabbed my bag and padded downstairs. After a quick introduction to Jonathan's parents, Jeremy and Charlotte, and his little brother, Thomas, I picked up the evening edition of the paper.

And walked straight out the door after I read the headline.

"What is it?" Jonathan asked, grabbing my shoulder. I shook him off. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"To find the Elrics," I replied. "Whatever is going on here is really bad."

"Wait up! You can't just leave!"

"Oh, yes I can!" I shouted as the house grew farther away. "Do yourself a favour and stay inside tonight!" I ran into a secluded alley and took off, tracking the smell of Winry's automail stuff back to the hotel.

I'm assuming you want to know what the headline said.

Well, I'm not telling you.

I flew in the window as Ed started reading a notebook. I then proceeded to throw my bag at him and hit him in the face.

"What the hell was that for?" he shouted, peeling the bag off and throwing it back at me. "And what makes you think you can just come waltzing back in here?"

"That was for being such a dick," I replied. "And I'm here because you need to find a copy of the evening edition newspaper."

"Why?"

"Because-"

"BROTHER!" The door burst open and Al charged in, carrying a copy of, what do you know, the evening edition newspaper. Ed cried out and jumped a few inches. "Here," Al said, a lot more quietly.

"Don't scare me like that," Ed said.

"In that case, keep it up, Al," I said, doing everything just to annoy the older Elric.

"The newspaper, Ed!" Al said, completely ignoring me. "Read the front page!"

"Hm?" Ed said, perking up suddenly. "What is it now?" He took the newspaper and read the front.

"What?" he gasped. "'Second Lieutenant Ross convicted of Brigadier General Hughes' murder'?"

"Like I said, you needed to find one," I told him, and he glared at me.

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><p><strong>Aaaand, that's the chapter! Not much in the way of plot, but quite entertaining!<strong>

**We all know what happens next...**

**See you next time, dear readers!**

**See that blue hyperlink down there? Yeah, that one. The one that your mouse is hovering above. Yep, that one. Now click it for free... uh, Louise plushies?**

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	12. Flames of Death

**THE IRONY OF THIS CHAPTER.**

**WHAT IS THIS- I DON'T EVEN- IT'S JUST- I CAN'T!**

**Yep, it's chapter 12 of Twelve! I am proud to say that... well, it's chapter 12 of Twelve. How can you get prouder than that? It's like chapter 4 in I Am Number Four or chapter 6 in Power of Six (which I still haven't read yet )**

**Look at that! I updated during school! Surprisingly, I've completed the massive amount of homework we've received. We got six pages of math homework on the SECOND DAY. *grumble* Stupid academic math level *grumble* And we got an assignment that lasts until the beginning of December for novel study. Although, we got to choose the book we read so I'm happy.**

**Just so you know, I wrote most of the latest chapter of the fanfiction _Iron Lieutenant_ by Bananna Bear. Check it out! It's about the Iron Fey, so if you haven't read that series... READ IT! IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL -**

**Yep, shameless advertising of my friends fanfiction. She didn't advertise mine in hers though... BLACKMAIL.**

**One other quick thing before we start chapter 12 (of Twelve). For my 100th reviewer, I'm thinking of doing a oneshot or something... since I don't have a deviantART account (although I really want one! then I could post pictures of Louise!), I can't draw you anything. So, it'll probably be a oneshot or maybe even a small cameo in this fanfiction... :B Review Review Review! But I _will_ inform you guys if I get a dA. I (that's 12 reallys :P) want one soooooooooooo (12 o's) badly!**

**Disclaimer: In Soviet Russia, you don't own Fullmetal. Fullmetal owns YOU.**

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><p>"They're accusing <em>Lieutenant Ross?<em>"

"Yep," I said to Ed. "That's right."

"B-but how?" he sputtered. "How could they accuse the lieutenant of something so serious?"

"Don't ask me," I said with a shrug. "I'm just the messenger."

Ed glared at me over his shoulder. "What the hell are you even doing here, anyway?"

"I told you, I'm the messenger," I said, leering at him. "And I just wanted to see your reaction."

Truth be told, I was actually worried about the Elrics. Despite the fact that I was pissed at Ed, his sanity was already dangerously close to breaking. Sure, I hated his little blonde guts (emphasis on little), but he saved my life more than once, and I was... alright, I might have been worried about him a little more than I was worried about Al. He was the older brother, the one who managed the family, although he didn't act like it sometimes, and he needed someone to keep him in line along with Al.

But don't think that I cared about him _too _much.

"Why don't you shut up?" Ed ordered, his glare becoming more intense.

"I don't think I have the brain capacity to understand your words," I sneered. "Could you please repeat them."

"_Why. Don't. You. Shut. Up._" Ed enunciated every syllable, his teeth gritted angrily.

"Oh, shut up," I said, pondering the words like I just understood them. "Hm, I don't think I like your temper, little boy."

"_LITTLE?_" Ed exploded. "_WHO'RE YOU CALLING LITTLE?"_

"Well, I'm obviously not talking about Al," I said, gesturing to the younger Elric.

"SHUT UP!" Ed shouted, his voice going shrill.

"Would you two _stop_ arguing?" Al sighed. "I'm getting tired of it."

"Come to think of it, I am too," I said thoughtfully. "Let's be friends, shall we?"

Ed ignored me, but I could see the irritated tic in his brow. "C'mon, Al. We have business to take care of."

I shrugged again. "I guess I have no choice but to tag along." Ed stood up and stomped out the door, followed by Al, who gave me a look before turning his back. I swear I heard Ed mutter "If you're coming, at least keep your mouth shut." We walked through the hotel in silence, all the way down to the lobby. I wasn't actually getting tired of arguing with Ed; it was quite amusing to see him freak out over the tiniest (no pun intended) comment.

"I can't believe this," Al said in exasperation as we walked through the lobby.

"Maybe the Colonel or the Major will know something about this," Ed said.

"What about Winry?"

"We'll explain it to her later," Ed said with finality, and we kept walking.

"Where are we _going,_ anyway?" I asked as we entered the street.

"The military building," Al said. "We need to talk to some people about Lieutenant Ross."

"Oh, I see." I nodded, and we kept walking. We walked through a few alleyways, taking a shortcut that Ed obviously thought would cut our time down a bit. I just went along with it.

Until I heard voices. And panting.

"Do you hear that?" I asked. Both of the brothers shook their heads.

"Maybe she really is insane," Ed muttered under his breath.

"May I remind you, Elric, that I have wolf ears," I said. "I can hear every word you're saying." Ed grumbled some gibberish as we came out into a four way intersection of alleys. Ed gasped at the sight in front of him.

"Lieutenant Ross!" the brothers said in unison.

"Edward! Alphonse! Louise! What are you three doing here?" the lieutenant questioned. She was in the company of a huge, fat-looking suit of armour with two meat cleavers and a helm shaped like the head of a wolf. _He's hollow, _I thought immediately. _He smells almost exactly like Al._ There was another guy there. He was wearing baggy pants and a strange yellow jacket with no shirt underneath and a belt slung across his chest that looked like it would hold a sword. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail and bangs that brushed over his right eye. His prisoner ID tags (that made me a little sceptical, but Ross was wearing them too) said "Ling Yao" and a bunch of random numbers. His eyes were closed almost completely.

_This guy must be the prince from Xing that Al told me about,_ I thought. _He's kind of attractive._

"Hm?" the fat armour guy said.

"Huh?" Al grunted.

"AGHHH! YOU'RE THAT GUY!" they both yelled, pointing accusingly at each other.

"And Ling too?" Al said.

Ling chuckled nervously. "Aha, hey guys! What're you up to?"

"I could ask the same of you!" Ed shouted at the prince.

"Quit chattering!" Fat Armour Guy snapped. "We don't have time for this!" He started slashing at Al with his meat cleavers, causing the latter to jump out of the way. The edge of one caught my cheek and I jumped back.

"Watch it!" I hissed.

"Why you-" Ed said in fury, unable to finish his sentence.

"Alright, sweetheart, take that back alley and run straight to the warehouse district. The darkness oughta hide you," Fat Armour Guy ordered.

"Wait, hold on!" Ed objected as Lieutenant Ross started running. "Tell us about Hughes!" Ross stopped and looked over, her face stricken.

"Get going!" Fat Armour Guy shouted. "If the MPs show up, they'll shoot you!" Lieutenant Ross shot one last pained look in our direction and kept running.

"Lieutenant Ross!" Ed yelled.

"Stay back," Fat Armour Guy said, and I dropped into a fighting crouch, bending my knees slightly.

"No, wait!" Al shouted. "Lieutenant Ross!" We all shot poisonous glares at Fat Armour Guy and Ling, but as soon as we got to it, there was a massive explosion far to our left, where Ross had been running. Fire spewed into the air, creating a large mushroom cloud.

"What was that?" Ed asked.

"My thoughts exactly," I said.

"Looks like they got her!" Fat Armour Guy said. _Was his voice... triumphant?_ Ed started running right past Fat Armour Guy and I followed. "Hold it! Get back here!" We were already far away from him, and Al took a swing but missed. I could still hear their conversation as we ran.

"Ops! Missed me!" Fat Armour Guy teased. "Let's go, Foreigner!"

"O-okey dokey!" Ling said, his voice a little squeaky.

"Wait! Ling!" Al cried. "What're you doing with a guy like him?"

"I'll have to fill you in later!" Ling yelled, giving a squeak of a laugh to match his voice.

"Argh! What now?" Al yelled, just as I crashed into Ed. The smell of burned flesh filled my nostrils, and I wondered how I didn't notice it before. Ed stood stock still in front of me, his breath shaking with horror. Across from us stood Roy Mustang in a long black coat, white gloves with transmutation circles stitched on them pulled over his hands, his back to us. Between us laid a charred, still smoking body.

The body that the ID tags identified as Maria Ross.

I turned away and gagged, bile rising in my throat. The smell was so intense, and it was even worse for a chimera with an enhanced sense of smell. I coughed and my hand came away covered with slime as I tried not to throw up. I wiped it off on the leg of my pants, disgusted.

"Hey there," Mustang said, his voice almost a sneer if his face wasn't so serious as he turned his head, "_Fullmetal._" Ed looked from the body to Mustang, and his fists clenched tightly.

"What happened here?" he said flatly. "What happened here, Colonel? _Tell me!_" The rage on Ed's face was evident as he yelled at Colonel Mustang. I tried to avoid looking at the body as my stomach roiled. Mustang was silent; he just glared at Ed and twisted one hand around his wrist.

"Why, Colonel?" Ed said through his teeth. His voice was cracking. "Why was Hughes murdered? Why would Second Lieutenant Ross..." Ed ran up and grabbed Mustang's collar. "Why didn't you say anything?" Mustang's eyes narrowed a fraction and he punched Ed in the face. The Fullmetal Alchemist fell onto his stomach and I stepped up beside him, glaring at Mustang. Even if I hated Ed with almost every fibre of my being, I owed him a lot, and he saved my life numerous times. I cared for him, if only a little.

"No one," I growled, almost so that Mustang couldn't hear. "_No one_ hurts the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Mustang merely smirked and adjusted his collar. "You threaten a superior officer?" _Hell yes we do._ "You forget yourself, Elric!" Ed pushed himself to his feet, and I didn't bother to offer any help.

_Bastard,_ I thought. _Murdering a woman who is obviously innocent just to get revenge for someone who's already dead. Maria Ross never did anything against the law._

Ed stood a little hunched over, the hatred burning intensely in his golden eyes. He turned around and glared at Mustang, then ran at him, screaming. I grabbed his arm and tried to hold him back with what little strength I had compared to him. Al arrived just then and seized his brother in an almost bear hug-like fashion.

"Brother, don't!" Al cried.

"I'm going to tear you apart!" Ed threatened towards Mustang.

"No, I won't let you!" Al objected.

"Ed, stop it!" I ordered, but Ed took a whole new path to try and get his brother to let go.

"This bastard just killed Ross!" Ed said, not taking his eyes off the Colonel.

"What?" Al asked. "He did?" Mustang turned and started to walk away as Al looked down and gasped. "How could you do that, Colonel?" Mustang stopped walking.

"Maria Ross was a fugitive. Our orders were shoot to kill. So I did."

"That's all you have to say?"

"About Hughes' death," Mustang said (A_/N author's note, for those of you who don't know. I had so much trouble understanding this line_). "I'm sorry for hiding it. But you do not argue against orders." Mustang turned his head back to us. "Or ask for explanations. Just follow them. That's what it means to be a soldier." Mustang continued walking away.

We sat down against the wall of the alley silently. Ed looked too infuriated and distressed to make conversation with, and Al was on the other side of him. I sat there, trying to get the smell of burned flesh out of my nose until the military arrived and started taking pictures of Maria Ross' body.

"Colonel Mustang!" a high ranking officer of some sort called. "You will explain to me what happened here at once."

"The message went out that if she resisted we were permitted to shoot to kill. She resisted." Mustang's voice had no tone, not even a hint of guilt or grief. His face was impassive. "So I killed her."

"I understand the Brigadier General was a friend," the officer said.

"Yeah," Mustang replied. "He was a good man."

"Perhaps, then, it was one of your men who aided Lieutenant Ross' escape."

"One of my men? But why?" _ I don't like the way he's speaking,_ I thought. _It just doesn't seem right. If he's a colonel, then he should have at least guessed that they would've suspected his men, whoever they are. There's something wrong here..._

"Why, colonel?" the officer asked as the charred body was lifted. The disgusting smell still lingered and I rubbed my nose furiously. "I'll tell you why. So you could burn her to death with your own hand." People moved the body away.

"I think such speculation is best avoided," Mustang said. His eyes moved over the three of us. He caught my eye and I glared at him, but Ed's look was far scarier than I could accomplish. He looked absolutely murderous.

"They're probably taking the... body for an autopsy," Al said, his voice wobbly. "We should probably go and see to make sure it really is..."

"Yeah," I said, standing up. "Let's go then. The smell is making me want to puke, and unless you want to be covered in my last meal, I suggest you move."

_Last meal,_ I thought. _Were the other Subjects treated the same as me? Did they get food before they went in?_ I swallowed and pushed the thought away.

"Are you alright?" Al asked me.

"Oh, yeah, fine," I said, offering a little smile. "Just... thinking about stuff." We followed the military cars and their slow procession (like a funeral, although I'd never been to one) to another building. I lagged behind the brothers as they followed the body in, trying to get as far away from the smell as possible.

We walked through many hallways until we reached the end of one where there was a door. They brought the body in and we sat down outside. Mustang went around the corner, trying to get away from us. Then another guy showed up. He was really freaking tall and had no hair except for one blonde curl and a moustache. There was a bandage wrapped around his head.

"Hello, Elric brothers," the tall man said in a deep, rumbling voice. "I would say it's nice to see you, but it really isn't."

"No, it's alright, Major Armstrong," Ed said in a downcast voice. Those were the first words he'd spoken in a while. "This is Louise, by the way. Louise, this is Major Alex Louis Armstrong."

_We share a name, _I thought. _Well, sort of._ "Nice to meet you, Major. I guess..." We shook hands and he loomed over me rather scarily. He had a good three feet on me. There was a long, extremely awkward silence, until the Major spoke.

"I'm truly sorry for not telling you about Brigadier General Hughes' death sooner," he said. Ed's shoulders tensed a bit.

"It's my fault," he said. Armstrong raised his chin in speculation.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. His murder wasn't your doing, Edward." Then the doors opened and a guy in hospital scrubs came out. The smell of medical equipment and dead body mixed together caused me to put my arm over my mouth and nose and step back a ways.

"Is everyone here then?" he asked in a low, drawling voice. He had short black hair, glasses, and a toothpick hanging out of his mouth.

"Doctor Knox," Armstrong said, giving a brief nod. The man had papers and diagrams from the autopsy, but I didn't want to even go near him to get a look. He reeked of... well, everything.

"Her body was almost completely destroyed," Doctor Knox said. "But judging from what little dental work remained, I was able to conclude that this is indeed Maria Ross." Some military personnel were taking notes behind us, but I ignored him. "It's an awful thing you did, turning a beauty like her into a pile of charcoal." _Indeed it is,_ I thought. "You must've held quite a grudge against her, didn't you, colonel." He turned his head to Mustang, who was sitting with his arms crossed. He raised his head and looked up at Doctor Knox. "Is the vengeance as sweet as you imagined it?"

The Colonel didn't say anything. He just huffed indignantly and looked away.

"The famous hero of the Ishvallan war, going this far against a little girl," Knox said, walking away. "It makes me _sick._"

"No kidding," I muttered. Mustang stood up to leave, but Armstrong spoke before he could walk away.

"Colonel," the Major said. "Please, allow me to apologize for one of my own officer's actions. I could never imagine that Lieutenant Ross would commit such a heinous murder!" The Major's shoulders were shaking, and I found it odd that such a big man could break down so easily. "She was so straightforward, and earnest, compassionate. A truly fine officer!" The Major finally snapped and sat down on a bench, covering his face with one large hand.

"Fatigue seems to be getting the best of you, Major," Mustang said. "Perhaps you should take some leave." The Major looked up, surprised at the Colonel's dismissal. "Back East, where I was. It's a nice place. None of the big city noise, and lots of beautiful women." He kept walking and Ed gritted his teeth and my fists were clenched, whether from fury or the smell, I didn't know. Ed's temper finally broke and he kicked a metal trash bin so hard that it fell over. I let out a small laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Ed growled. "What the hell could you possibly be laughing at now?"

"I find it funny that you didn't kick me," I said. "Listen, I really hate to say this, but... I'm sorry for being such a b-" I sighed and cut myself off. "I'm sorry for being so rude earlier. But, don't expect it to not happen again. You have the worst habit of pushing my temper beyond breaking point." Ed was silent, still glaring, but he didn't really mean it. I could see confused anger in his eyes. "Come on, guys. Let's go home."

I started walking, and there was a moment where I couldn't hear any footsteps behind me. But the brothers caught up quickly, and we set off towards the hotel. We decided to hold off from telling Winry about the incident until the next day; we were all too tired to have to retell the story.

"Are you staying with us?" Al asked.

I sighed. "There's no point in going back to where I was staying. If I'm not intruding, I'll be sleeping here tonight." I picked up my bag and walked over to one of the couches.

"There is an extra bed," Ed said.

"No thanks. I'd rather it not smell like I do now when I go to sleep in it tomorrow," I said.

"What do you mean, 'smell'?" Ed asked.

"It's a chimera thing," I said, then fell onto the couch and got ready to go to sleep.

Later in the night, I was awoken by a huge pain in my chest. I gasped and fisted my hand in the front of my t-shirt, trying to hold off the pain. It disappeared, and I could feel blood bubbling in my mouth. I coughed and it came out all over my hand.

"Are you alright?" Al asked quietly.

"Fine," I muttered. "Just a... nightmare."

.:~*-*~:.

The next morning, Ed and Al faced a huge challenge: explaining the events to Winry. When they called the girl into out room, I left to have a shower, not wanting to hear the events and be reminded of the _smell_, which was still clinging to the fabric of my clothes. When I came out of the bathroom, the boys were still explaining things. I stayed at the end of the couch that Ed was lying on as they finished up.

"So, Colonel Mustang, he..." Winry trailed off, her face overrun with grief. "I can't believe he'd do something like that. But at least they... caught the killer."

"Yeah," Ed said distantly, staring up at the ceiling.

"Justice was served," I agreed. "But it didn't have to be like that." No one talked for a minute. Everyone strayed into their own thoughts about the murder, pondering whether it was right or wrong.

"Hey, Louise," Winry said.

"Hm?" I looked up from the ground at her.

"What you said yesterday about the other 'Subjects...' What did you mean?" I could feel my face turn stony as I sank onto the arm of the couch, the tip of Ed's boot digging into my back.

"Can she know?" I asked the Elrics quietly.

"Yeah," Ed said. "She should."

"Do you want us to tell it for you?" Al offered.

"No, I'll do this on my own."

"If it's really serious, you don't have to tell me," Winry said.

"It's fine. I need to practice telling it anyway." I took in a deep breath and looked at Winry. "I'll start by saying I'm different. Different, as in inhumanly different. When I was a baby, I was sent to Laboratory Five, along with eleven other infants."

"I thought Lab Five had shut down."

"It hadn't," I corrected. "At least, not until the building crumbled to the ground." I heard Ed and Al shift in their seats, but I ignored it. "When I was very little, two or three, maybe, they turned me into a chimera. A part human, part animal. I was fused with a hawk. The others were fused with other animals. We grew up together, each of us making up a huge family.

"From the day we were turned into chimeras, we were experimented on. Horrible stuff. They made us run until we dropped, there was a lot of surgery, and... and the drills." I shuddered involuntarily. "There was a routine for a good fourteen years of our life, until we moved to Lab Four.

"The scientists became desperate and started taking us away, one by one, until it was only me left. Every time one of the other Subjects was taken away, we could hear them screaming like bloody murder. When it came down to me, I was ready to look death in the face. But I didn't die. I became one third hawk, one third human, and one third wolf.

"Then, the scientists sent me out to find and... _kill_-" Winry sucked in a breath- "the Fullmetal Alchemist. But I didn't." I swallowed something unpleasant that had arisen when I recalled everything and hung my head slightly. "I'm not Louise. I'm Subject Twelve."

And there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah, who is it?" Ed asked, and got up and pulled open the door. "What do you-" I saw a large fist poised to strike and Ed raised his automail arm to block. I could see Major Armstrong in the doorway as Ed dropped and slid across the floor. "_Major!_ What the hell did you do that for?"

"You listen to me, Edward Elric," the Major rumbled, looming over Ed on the floor. The alchemist squeaked. The Major reached down and picked Ed up by the automail arm and lifted him a few feet off the ground. "Hm, this is no good, no good at all! Your automail seems to be broken!" He flexed the metal appendage a few times.

"Um, okay," Ed said meekly, his voice really high.

"Yes, this is a serious situation indeed! We'll have to repair it at once." The Major turned away and a _sparkle_ appeared next to his head. _A sparkle. _"There is no time to waste! Allow me to escort you to Resembool for repairs?"

"Eh, Major?" Ed shrunk back a little. "What's up?"

"What was that?" Winry asked, peeking out the door along with me and Al.

"You're going back home to Resembool?" Al questioned.

"I-I have no idea what he's talking about, Al!"

"And you, Alphonse Elric." Another sparkle appeared, and I blanched. He walked up to Alphonse, practically standing nose to nose. "You would stand out to much, so you will remain here in Central."

"Okay," Al said. The Major grabbed Ed by the back of his jacket and dragged him across the floor.

"Right! We need to make arrangements for transportation right away! Come along, Edward!" Ed let out a terrified scream that sounded almost comical as the Major yanked him down the hall, towing him along like a suitcase. Winry and Al stammered stupidly as I walked back into the room.

"Looks like it's time to put my tracking skills to the test," I said, grinning.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Winry asked.

"I'm going after Ed," I said, like it was totally obvious (which it was). "They'll be heading down to the train station, right?"

"Uh, yeah, but how are you going to catch up to them?" Winry sputtered.

"I _did_ say I was part hawk." My wings sprouted from my back, right through the slits I'd cut in my clothing especially for them. Winry gawked at me. "I'll make sure to bring that idiot back safely."

"But I thought you hated him!" Al said.

"Do you want your brother back or not?" I asked, and Al didn't answer. "I'll be back in... whenever." I took off out the window and into the night, speeding towards the train station.

"Wait, Louise!" Al called. "Your bag!" I was too far away to turn around and get it without missing the Major and Ed. It had everything I owned in it.

_Aw, shit._

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><p><strong>Yeah, so Louise basically retold her story to Winry... aw snap. Sorry if these few chapters are boring for you guys, but they're of plot importance. I hate copying stuff from episodes. And that line with Mustang that I couldn't get... WTF was he saying? It sounded like "Thou chooses death" or "How chooses death." I had to replay it like 8 times before I got it!<strong>

**Side note about this chapter: it's longer than usual. My usual chapters average at about 3,200 words (no, I didn't do the math, I'm just guessing) but this one is 4,329 and about an extra thousand for this author's note (DANG they are long this time, but I have a lot to say). :D It's a new record for the longest chapter!**

**So, ladies and gentlemen (are there any male readers? I'd like to know), I leave you to go eat dinner (which smells really good, by the way). My stomach has been rumbling rather loudly as I write this author's note. I smell garlic.**

**Do you see it? Yeah, you do. You know you do. You see that review button. Yeah. It's not just a review button. It's a review button that has your crush's face on it. And makes a puppy dog face that you know you can't resist. Click it. CLICK IT, DARN YOU!**

**\/**


	13. The Truth, the Lies, and the Horrors

**"Anata to watashi de rendezvous? Rendezvous? Rendezvous?  
>Ara ma ton detta abanchūru?<br>Ashidori yugan de 1,2,1,2!"  
>-Matryoshka (if you know that song, you are on my list of epic) (the reason I quoted this is because Rendezvous is said several times in this chapter).<strong>

**10 pages, 6,624 words, and several interruptions later...**

**This chapter is LONG, dear readers. I didn't intend it to be as long as it is, but hey, here's a bonus. And I'm updating in under a week! How's that for efficiency under the pressure of homework? And thank the gods for the manga. I needed to use it for reference when they meet Mr. Han.**

**Alright, so, I was looking at the poll results (this was a while ago; I've just forgotten to mention it) and one of the more popular choices was "Not enough fluff." Yeah, about that... Ed and Louise's relationship doesn't really show until WAAAAAY later. For now, their relationship is pretty much platonic (save a part in this chapter which I guarantee you're going to LOVE me for). I also noticed that "Not enough short rants" was the second most popular... I can't put short rants in all the time, but I try. Also, my bestie Bananna Bear (I talk a little too much about her, don't I?) came up with a pairing name. But alas, I can't tell you because of spoilers. Too bad, so sad. **

**On other notes, I found out that there's a veryveryveryveryveryvery minor character in FMA with the same name as me. And the spelling is the same, too! I'll leave it up to you to guess... (I'm a girl, in case you didn't know XD). Oh, and I now own a signed copy of FMA Volume 10, in case I haven't already said that (I probably have; my memory is terrible). And guess who signed it? VIC BLOODY MIGNOGNA. My friend got it signed for me, since I couldn't go to FanEXPO. Cry moar.**

**GhostSniper907, your review made me laugh. Out loud. Thanks for letting me know XD**

**Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa has the pleasure of owning Fullmetal Alchemist. Sadly, I don't. **

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><p>I soared through the air, leaving my bag behind (stupid) and trying to remember the location of the Central train station (stupid). I thought of the many ways that Ed could call me an idiot for forgetting my bag (stupid) and winced several times as my thoughts got worse. Instead of thinking of his ridicule, I switched to something else.<p>

How on earth was I going to board the train?

I couldn't just show up in front of a busy train station with my wings out, not in front of so many people. And, I didn't have any money, so I couldn't buy a train ticket. I'd have to ride on top of the train all the way to Resembool.

_Oh, _fantastic, I thought. _This is just lovely. _

I landed on the roof of the train station and looked in the direction of the tracks. It was already dark out, so I didn't have to really worry about blowing my cover by hanging over the edge of the roof and looking at the people. I tied my hair in a quick knot to keep it from blowing around in the wind.

_Finding Major Armstrong shouldn't be too hard,_ I thought. _Although spotting Ed might be a problem. But, he's with the Major, so I shouldn't have to worry._

It took me a bit to find them, but I finally saw the Major's bald head looming above the crowd. He was herding Ed onto the train like a lost sheep, and the poor kid looked terrified. I made a mental note of which train it was (and which car they boarded so I didn't lose track of them) and waited for the departure.

The train left the station about twenty minutes later. I counted the first four cars as it chugged along and jumped on the fifth. The resulting _thunk_ was loud (stupid), but nothing that you could hear over the sound of the train. I grabbed onto a rung that was next to a sort of door that came off of the top of the train and held on for all I was worth.

I'd never felt so awesome in my life.

Riding on the outside of the train was like flying, only a million times better. Everything about it was awesome: the wind whipping through my hair, the feeling of going faster than humanly possible. It was way better than riding in the inside of the train. It didn't smell as bad, despite the smoke from the engines. Besides that, the only scents I could take in were the smells of the forest and world around me, and the train itself.

When the train ride stretched on into the night, I had to force myself to stay awake. I was pretty tired, but I couldn't fall asleep or I'd fly right off the train to my doom. In the end, I slipped one of my sleeves off and tied it around the rung I was holding on to and grabbed onto it with my free arm. I curled up in a ball and went to sleep for a while.

When I woke up, the sun was up (but not that much) and the top of my head was burning. Having black hair and the sun beating down on your head, even if it wasn't that bright or that high, without protection were not a good combination. I grumbled and pulled my jacket over the top of my head, taking a look around.

There was nothing but endless open land. There were mountains in the distance, and the fields seemed to go on forever. There were forests here and there with trees taller than I'd ever seen. There was an unfathomable longing in my heart, and I wanted to fly away.

I felt like I... belonged there.

I'd never had that feeling before, and it surprised me. I never felt like I belonged anywhere, not in Lab 5, not in Central, not truly with the Elrics. Being in the open space made me feel exhilarated, like I could just keep running and flying forever.

I sighed and grabbed onto the rung with both hands. I knew I couldn't take off and fly; I'd lose the train. I pushed up into a crouch and pushed my wings out. They were almost immediately pinned back from the speed we were going, but I angled them the right way and I could hold them there just fine. I took a deep breath and kicked my legs off the top of the train.

And I flew.

Holy crap, it was awesome. There's no way to describe the feeling except pure bliss. I could've stayed like that forever, and I did for a while, until my grip on the rung started to loosen and I almost flew off the train. I touched back down and sat cross legged for a while longer

The ride lasted for another good freaking day. By then, I was bored of counting trees and even thinking of new ways to insult Ed. I was so glad when we pulled into the station, but not so glad when I realized that there were people on the path. I ducked down and slid off the train, landing behind the station and quickly running around to the other side.

"Are you ever going to tell me what's going on?" Ed asked the Major indignantly as they walked away from the station. "This is starting to feel a little too much like a kidnapping." _What I wouldn't give to see that,_ I thought.

"Hey, Elric! Major Armstrong! Wait up!" I called, jogging up to meet them.

"Louise?" Ed exploded. "How did you- why'd you-" He stopped to compose himself. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well," I began, "Winry and Al were _pretty_ worried about you, and I was the only one who could get to the station fast enough to catch up." I shot him a sly grin. "What d'ya think?"

"I think you're insane," Ed said blatantly. I glared at him. "How did you even get here?"

"I followed you, idiot."

He narrowed his eyes. "I know that, but _how?_ I didn't see you at the station." I sighed and flapped my arms like a bird. "Oh. But how did you-" he lowered his voice so that the Major couldn't hear- "keep up with the train? I know you're not that fast."

"Notice the blisters on my hands?" I held one up to show him, and he grimaced at the massive blister between my thumb and forefinger from sliding around on the rung. "I held on up top."

"Louise?" the Major asked. "What on Earth are you doing here?"

"I followed you guys because Al and Winry were worried," I explained almost irritably.

"Anyways, Major," Ed said, "What are we doing here?"

"I haven't been fully informed on the details," the Major said, and we started walking. I had to walk really fast to keep up with the Major's huge steps. "My only orders were to retrieve you and to rendezvous here."

"Rendezvous?" Ed questioned. "With who?" We looked forward, and a fat guy with a suitcase stood up and saluted us.

Well, that was unexpected.

"I'm glad you made it alright, Major Armstrong sir!" he called. He had reddish brown hair and dark eyes that widened slightly when he noticed me and Ed. "Huh?" Then he grinned. "Hey! S'up, big guy?"

"Big guy?" I snorted. "Are you serious?"

Ed stiffened as his face screwed up. "Lieutenant Breda?"  
>"Yeah, it's me," Lieutenant Breda said. "And who's this young lady?"<p>

"Louise," I answered, returning the salute for no particular reason. "I'm a... friend of Ed's."

"Oh," Breda said. "I'm Lieutenant Heymans Breda. I'd like to get to know you better, but we really have to go."

"No problem," I said. _Although, I can't say I wouldn't like to get to know you better. You smell like hot dogs, and it's making my mouth water. _We started walking at a very fast pace to get to wherever we were going.

"Slow down, dammit!" I huffed. Ed smirked.

"What, are we going too fast for you, shorty?" he sneered.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you are. I can't see you having an easy time keeping up with them, either," I retorted. Ed glared at me.

"How are Al and Winry doing?" he asked, changing the subject.

"You only saw them a day ago," I said. "It's not like anything has changed." He shot me a glare that pierced right through my soul. "Alright, alright. They're fine."

"Good." A look of peace washed over his face. _Would he care that much for someone like me?_ I wondered absently. _Would _anyone_ care that much for someone like me?_ "Hey, are you alright? You went kind of quiet there."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... thinking," I replied.

"You know..." Ed trailed off. "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't keep your emotions all bottled up inside you."

"That, coming from someone like you?" I said, a little smirk on my face. "Aren't you exactly like that?"

Ed didn't react the way I expected. "I've just trained myself to act that way. Being a State Alchemist at my age... you have to be really strict about what you say and feel around military officers."

"I guess that's how it works," I said with a shrug.

"So, what's your problem, then?" Ed asked. I looked away.

"It's nothing that concerns you," I said stiffly.

We didn't talk for a long time.

We reached a more populated part of Resembool, where a few houses lined a beaten old dirt path. There were random animals wandering the streets. The dogs wandered up to me curiously, while the cats and birds made a break for it as fast as possible.

_They can smell the wolf in me,_ I thought. _That's really weird. I bet I could unleash a whole army of dogs on Ed..._A smile appeared on my lips. _That would be interesting._

"Are you coming with me to get my automail repaired?" Ed asked.

"I'm not here because of your broken automail, and neither are you," Breda said, stopping in front of a small house. "Come with me." Breda opened the door and we stepped inside.

There was a man sitting at a table in front of us. He had a funny little beard and a moustache, and there was a cap on his head, covering his hair.

"Hello," he said. "How are you?"

"This is Mr. Han, the departure coordinator," Breda explained.

"Nice to meet you. Fu told me all about you," Mr. Han said with a smile.

"Fu?" Ed pondered. "Oh, that old guy."

"Let's get down to business," Breda said, ignoring Ed's stupidity. "About the border crossing..."

"Border crossing?" Ed and I said at the same time.

"But I didn't bring my passport!" Ed said.

"Passport?" I muttered. "What's a passport?"

"Don't be so naive," Breda said. "If you use your passport, they can track you down."

"But that's illega-" Before Ed could finish talking, Major Armstrong clapped a hand over his mouth. The resulting noise was so loud it made me jump, the noise of my feet hitting floor breaking the silence in the room. Everyone was giving Ed this look, and I knew to keep quiet.

Ed pried Armstrong's hand away from his mouth. "I can't believe it!" He slammed his hand down on the table. "Abduction, scheming, illegal border crossings... I don't know what you're getting me into, but it better not be dumb." He sounded furious, but his next words completely threw the anger away. "So... where are we going?"

Breda gained a smirk on his face. "To the East."

.:~*-*~:.

A few hours later, we were riding on horses.

Across the desert.

And Ed wouldn't _stop grumbling._

He was muttering some gibberish about the heat, and how it was burning him, and I honestly wanted to slap him so hard he fell into the burning sand.

"Stop complaining," I muttered. "You're not in my position." Yeah, I was sitting on the same horse as Ed.

And I had to _wrap my arms around him_ so I wouldn't fall off.

"Yeah, well, you're not in my position, either," Ed grumbled. "The Colonel never said we'd be crossing the border. Tight-lipped bastard."

"Mr. Han," Breda said, his voice indicating everything pointing to displeasure, "how much further do we have left?"

"We've almost made it," the old man said. "Look." He pointed out in front of him, where I could barely make out pieces of broken rock. The mirage was distorting everything, and it only made it worse for someone with enhanced vision (like me). "You can see the ruins ahead." Off in the distance, I could see what looked like a piled up mound of sandstone. It didn't look like much, but I knew it was the ruins of Xerxes, a once great desert civilization.

We walked on for a while longer, the ruins of Xerxes slowly getting bigger. When we finally reached them, I was thankful for the shade. The top of my head was burning, even through the hood of the cloak that Mr. Han had given me earlier to protect me from the sun. I'll admit that I was better off than Ed, who had to deal with the direct sunlight streaming down onto his automail. As soon as we reached a small pool filled with water, he took off the cloak and jumped right in.

"My automail almost seared through my skin," he bubbled. There was indeed steam coming from the metal appendage. I was surprised that it actually hadn't burned his skin to a bubbling mess.

The old man Fu was already waiting for us there. He was having a conversation about how bringing us along was a bad idea with Breda and Major Armstrong as I perched on the edge of the pool. Previously, I had hung backwards into the pool and cooled my head off. Having thick hair didn't help with the heat, either.

Ed got out of the pool and pulled his shirt off to wring it out and I found myself staring at him, blushing very slightly on top of the flush from the heat. Sure, I'd seen guys with their shirts off before (the other six boy Subjects frequently went around shirtless because of experiments) but I'd never seen, well, _that._ I'd never expected Ed to be so... muscled. I mean, everything he wore was kind of loose, so it made him look scrawny. I wondered if he tried to look scrawny on purpose. Hell, I wondered how he _got_ those muscles in the first place...

_His abs are not sexy, Twelve,_ I thought adamantly. _That is final._

Ed smiled with satisfaction as the water came dripping out of his shirt and flapped it once. "So, this is 'Xerxes,' huh? Looks just like the fable describes it."

"Did you say a fable?" Fu asked.

"Yeah," Ed replied. "'The Eastern Sage.' It's a story about the origin of alchemy in Amestris. It claims the entire kingdom of Xerxes was destroyed in a single night, and that the only survivor wandered into Amestris shortly afterwards. He was the one who went on to spread the science of alchemy. "

"How interesting," Fu said. "We have a similar legend in Xing about a drifter from the west. It's said that his teachings were combined with our ancient techniques to form the alkahestry we practice today."

_Alkahestry,_ I thought. _Where have I heard that term before?_

"Alkahestry is primarily used for medical needs, isn't it?" Ed asked. _Oh, yeah,_ I thought. _We brushed on that in the Lab when we were learning about alchemy. _

"Yes," Fu said. "He guided this process, and we greatly revere him. We know him as 'the Western Sage'. Come now, we must start walking. We can discuss this on our way to our destination." Everyone started on their way and I sat there for a few seconds, pondering whether or not I should take a quick dip in the water before we left.

"You coming, Louise?" Ed asked, and I jumped so high that I slipped and nearly fell in the water. Ed grabbed my arm to stop the fall and a furious blush heated my face. "Watch what you're doing."

_Dammit, Ed, put a shirt on before I drown myself,_ I thought angrily. _You're distracting me._

I stood up and followed Ed and the others on their walk. Xerxes was a beautiful city before it fell, judging by the ruins. There were soaring archways, elaborate looking buildings, and once filled gardens that could have held more plants than one thought possible. I wondered to myself if I was from Xerxes, or any of the other Subjects were. It would have been nice to know where I was from before this hell happened to me.

"So the 'west' in his title is supposed to refer to here?" Breda asked Fu as we walked.

"It is believed so, yes," Fu answered.

"But if Xerxes was such a highly advanced society, how were they wiped out in a single night?"

"It could very well just be a legend," Fu answered with finality. I was so focused on the conversation that I didn't notice Ed stop walking. I crashed into him and smacked my forehead on his automail, but he didn't budge.

"Geez, watch it, Ed. At least warn me next time!" I grumbled, but then saw what he was looking at. There was a piece of a wall that had been blown away at the top. I could see the outline of a transmutation circle traced in the rock, but the top part of it was missing.

"What're you gawking at?" Fu yelled from ahead of us. "Come on!"Ed took one last look at it before sprinting in the other direction. I quickly followed him, but there was a thought planted firmly in my mind.

I'd seen that circle before, in the Lab.

I pushed the memory to the back of my mind, not wanting to relive it. I focused on the creases in the back of Armstrong's (quite shiny) bald head. I absently wondered if Ed had told him about my "condition." I doubted it.

"_I trusted you to at least keep _that_ a secret,"_ I'd said.

Had he abided by my wish?

We kept walking, and walking, and _walking._ Xerxes was a sprawling civilization that never seemed to end. The scenery wasn't very appealing either: just the same old broken columns and collapsed buildings. The walk was made slightly more pleasant by the shade, which staved off the heat a little. But it still didn't do much. Wishing I brought a hair tie, I peeled some of my hair off the back of my neck.

"We're going in pretty deep now, aren't we," Ed said after a while of walking.

"No, _really," _I rolled my eyes at him and he returned the gesture with a glare. Our silent battle was broken by a single word.

"Edward?"

Ed let out a "Huh?" and Armstrong grunted. We all looked over to our left, up on top of a particularly tall mound of rubble. I caught a familiar scent on the air and saw Ed's eyes widen out of the corner of my eye. When my vision adjusted to the glare of the sun, I couldn't help but grin.

Before us stood Lieutenant Maria Ross, alive and unscathed.

"That damn colonel!" Ed said, spouting a grin of his own.

And Armstrong ripped off his shirt.

"OHOHO!" Armstrong exclaimed, his muscles bulging. I cringed and shied away. "LIEUTENANT ROSS! THANK THE HEAVENS!" He started chasing the poor lieutenant around in circles, trying to catch her and pull her into a hug that probably meant her doom.

"There really wasn't any place in Amestris we could safely hide a dead girl," Breda said, smiling at the sight. "Especially one that's still alive, you know?"

"So, the Colonel knew that Lieutenant Ross was innocent all along?" Ed asked, looking at Breda. The latter just smirked.

"I'll explain later," he said. "Let's find a place to sit down."

"Yeah, and wait for the major to put his shirt back on," I muttered.

"Trust me, it gets worse," Ed said. "You haven't had him hug you yet."

I found myself chuckling. "Forget about him just cracking my back. He'd break my spine before I could even breathe."

"Gee, you don't look very breakable to me," Breda said, raising an eyebrow.

"I swear my bones are hollow," I said, hoping he wouldn't take the hint that I did actually have partially hollow bones (he didn't look that bright, anyway). "I've broken a lot of stuff in the past." Ed gave me a warning look, but I just smirked at him. "I'm not stupid," I said to him quietly.

"Are you sure?" he said, but he didn't have an insulting tone in his voice like he usually did. He was actually pulling a joke this time. I couldn't think of much that would ruin his attitude, so I just smiled and played along.

"We should stop delaying," Fu said. "We need to find a place to sit down, and then we'll explain everything." I sighed and grabbed Armstrong's shirt, walked up to him, and was nearly killed. I finally managed to calm him down and he returned his clothing to its rightful place.

"It's nice to see you... alive," I said to Lieutenant Ross.

She was positively beaming. "You too, Louise. I was so worried about how everyone would react."

"Good thing, too," I said. "Ed was really worried. You should've seen him."

"I'm glad I didn't," the lieutenant said a little darkly. We started walking again and I strolled along beside Ed, who had acquired somewhat of a bounce in his step. He had a goofy smile on his face, but made no effort to shake it off. I found myself smiling too, the happy aura around our group too much to ignore. We found a place to sit down (well, it was more like the Major dragged a bunch or square rocks into a circle) and Breda began to explain.

"When the new went out the Lieutenant Ross had been accused, I reported directly to Mustang. We were talking and he got a phone call from some guy named Barry. We had to go to an outside line, because obviously Mustang didn't want the military tapping in to his call. He finished talking to Barry and found out where the lieutenant actually shot her bullet. He gave me a list of ingredients to make a body as a dummy to burn, and I went out and got them.

"Later, we had Barry go and break the lieutenant out from prison and bring her to the warehouse district. He picked up a prince from Xing along the way, but that didn't slow them down. Mustang was already waiting there for them, but they ran into a few complications along the way." Breda cast a glance at me and Ed, but didn't make any comment on our appearance. "The Colonel burned his fake corpse and put Lieutenant Ross in a trash bin, where Lieutenant Havoc was waiting for her. There was a fake panel in the bricks that led them right into a warehouse. They got away like nothing happened."

"So, after Madam Ross was prematurely freed, the Young Lord made a deal with Barry the Chopper," Fu finished. _So Barry the Chopper was Fat Armour Guy,_ I concluded. _He sounds like a criminal. Never thought he'd work for the military._ "The orders I've been given are to personally escort this woman to the east to take refuge."

"So we all agreed to rendezvous here," Breda said, "in one big effort to aid the Lieutenant's escape."

The Major crossed his arms. "I see."

"You've got to be joking," Ed said, but there was a smile on his face. "I can't believe the Colonel was able to pull one over on us like this."

"No kidding," I said. "He had me fooled pretty good."

"He knew it'd be easier to convince you if you actually _saw_ Lieutenant Ross," Breda said.

"Fine, I'll admit it, alright?" Ed held up his hands in surrender. "He actually knew what he was doing this time."

"He mentioned something else," Breda went on, and the smile on Ed's face was replaced by a curious look. "He said he didn't want to take a chance on some hot-tempered kid endangering the situation, so he sent _you_ out here."

"HOT TEMPERED _KID?_" Ed exploded.

"You said 'operation'," Major Armstrong said, unfazed by Ed's outrage. "Is there a Phase B on liberating Lieutenant Ross?"

"Indeed. He's got a plan to reel in the puppeteer," Breda said, his posture toughening. "The one who's behind the conspiracy."

"NO ONE CALLS ME A- wait, what did you say?" Ed stopped screaming, and I snickered at his quick change of attitude.

"You remember Barry from the Fifth Lab, right?" Breda questioned. _Wait, Fifth Lab? What was he doing there? _I thought, my pulse speeding up. _Why would Ed have been at Five?_ "He went on one hell of a rampage. They're bound to send someone to reclaim him." There was a while of talking about things such as Homunculi and a lot regarding the Lab, but I couldn't get a word in about what Ed was doing there. Eventually, Armstrong got a pad of paper and started sketching out the homunculi (I have to give him some credit- he was really good at drawing!). They were already planning suspect lists. In the end, there were five pictures: one of Envy, Lust, a homunculus I didn't recognize with sunglasses, a transmutation circle, and an Ouroboros.

"I've got nothing to do with this," Ross grumbled before I could ask Ed anything. "Zilch! And yet, here I am, stuck in the middle of it, framed by Homunculi."

"We've collected a fair amount of intelligence," Breda said. "And once we properly piece it together, we'll have the General's killer."

"I promise you this, Lieutenant: we will absolve you of this crime." The Major looked back at Ross, who glanced up at him.

"But Lieutenant Col- I mean _General_ Hughes..." Ed's shoulders sank. "It's just hard to accept that he's dead."

"And what shall you do now, Edward Elric?" Armstrong asked.

Ed was silent for a moment. "Al and I committed a taboo. We still have people that help us. Some people get angry at us, others support us silently. Each one of them has tried to help me keep my promise to my brother." Ed gripped his automail hard with his other hand. "So I have no choice. I can't turn back. Which means all I can do is move forward, right? And I'll protect everyone I can along the way. I refuse to let another person become a victim. Not while I'm alive." He looked at the palms of his hands, one with a glove, one without. "I know that's a hard promise to keep; it's hard enough taking care of myself. I don't think that I'm even capable of it. Maybe I'm just arrogant."

_Yes, and yes,_ I thought.

"But, it's the only thing I can think of, so I have to do it. I _have to._" There was silence in the circle. Ed took a quick glance at everyone, and they all gave him reassuring looks, but I kept my face carefully blank. _If there's any time to ask about the Lab, it's now,_ I thought. I opened my mouth to speak, but Armstrong beat me to it.

"And what about you, lieutenant?" he said, and Ross looked up. "Where do you intend to seek asylum?"

"Well, I think I'm going to give Xing a shot," she said confidently. Ed looked up, surprised.

"Xing? Why there?" he asked.

"I can't exactly go back to Amestris. There, I'm dead," Ross explained. "We're already in Xerxes, halfway across the desert, and I've heard a lot of good things about that country."

"Oh," Ed said, but there was no hiding the disappointment in his voice.

"It's getting late," Fu said. "The sun is getting low, and we should travel by the cover of night. It will be coolest then." There was a silent agreement that everyone would start loading the horses, so they all stood up. I stayed sitting and Ed noticed, so he didn't stand.

"Ed," I said quietly, "about the Fifth Lab... what were you-" Before I could finish, Armstrong clamped a massive hand on my shoulder (I kid you not, it was bigger than my head).

"Come, Louise, Edward," he rumbled. "You should help get the horses ready for Lieutenant Ross' departure." Disappointment stabbed through me, but I stood up wordlessly and went to help tack the horses (_A/N. If you don't know, tacking a horse is basically putting the saddle, bridle etc on). _I didn't say a word to Ed, but he kept casting cautious glances my way. I ignored them as the horses shied away from me. _Stupid wolf, _I thought grumpily. _Now every herbivore in the world is afraid of me._

When we finished packing, the sun was already setting. We led the horses to the edge of the ruins, where Fu and several other Xingese men were waiting.

"Any parting wishes?" Armstrong asked Lieutenant Ross as she patted a horse. "Shall I tell your parents?"

"No, sir. As much as I want them to know I'm okay, I'm scared it would be too much of a risk. I just don't want to put them in that kind of danger."

"Very well," Armstrong said.

"Major Armstrong, Lieutenant Breda," Ross addressed them. They both looked up with grunts of surprise. "Please deliver a message to the Colonel. I need him to know how grateful I am for what he's done. If there's any way I can help him, tell him to send for me! I owe him a great debt and I am willing to put my life on the line to repay it." Lieutenant Ross saluted, and the other two officers did as well. I was tempted to do that, too, because of my "pack instinct" as a wolf, but I held back.

"Right," Armstrong said. Ed suddenly looked sad. The Lieutenant stepped up to him and held out a hand. Ed raised his hand to block a punch that never came.

"Goodbye, Edward. Take care of yourself, okay?" The Lieutenant smiled at him.

"I still owe you," Ed said, a little grin growing on his face. "For slapping me, that is."

"Wait, you slapped him?" I said, smiling. Ed stomped down on my foot, but I didn't really care.

The Lieutenant chuckled. "You can get me next time." Ed clasped hands with her and she looked at me. "Keep him in line, Louise."

"No problem, Lieutenant Ross," I said, shaking her hand. "Don't go out there and... die or something, alright?"

The Lieutenant laughed. "Alright. I'll make sure not to do that." _Because the last time someone went away from me,_ I thought,_ they died. _In that moment, I realized that no one ever turned their back on me, not even Ed. No one ever walked away, they always came to me. I smiled.

_I guess this is family._

The Xingese men and Lieutenant Ross all mounted their horses and set off into the sunset. We watched them for a while in a respectful silence.

"Alright," Ed said finally. "Next time, then."

We walked back to our makeshift camp and sat down. There was a while where no one said anything, until Ed declared that he was going to go exploring. To be honest, he looked like he wanted to be alone.

But was I going to abide by that?

No.

We started walking in silence, touring through the ruins. It took me a while to figure out where we were until I saw the transmutation circle Ed had been looking at earlier. He stared at it for a moment.

"I thought so," he said. "It's like that transmutation circle from the Fifth Lab. A two-headed dragon, and the sun." He paused, then furiously scratched his head. "Ah, dammit! Why does the top part have to be missing?"

"What were you doing at Five, Edward?" I questioned. Not Ed, not Elric, not dumbass. Edward. But, once again, I couldn't ask him. I heard footsteps approaching us. A stick swung down and we both stepped to the side. Ed grabbed the attacker's wrist and had him pinned to the ground in a second.

"What do you want?" Ed demanded, and I sighed at his lack of answer to my question. "I don't have any money, so y-" Ed stopped and looked down at the man's face. My eyes followed his gaze and I raised my eyebrows.

"He looks like Crazy Alchemist Guy," I said thoughtfully.

"You're an Ishvalan," Ed said, almost as a declaration. More people started to surround us, and I got ready to fight them.

"Excuse me, children, but I'm afraid we're going to have to take you hostage until your military returns our holy land to us," a man with a scarred face said. He had the same gray hair and red eyes as the guy Ed had pinned under him.

"Well that's rude!" I scoffed.

"They're not going to return squat," Ed said, looking back at him. "Not over a couple of kids."

"It was the death of a single child that triggered the entire Ishvalan Civil War," the man countered, "so you really shouldn't doubt your significance in the eyes of history." Ed just stared him down, nowhere close to compliant.

"That's enough of your shameful behaviour," someone rasped. We all looked over as two other Ishvalans hobbled up to us. One was a boy, probably younger than me, and the other was a withered old lady with an eye patch. She was leaning on the boy and on a cane for support.

"Madam Shan!" the scarred man exclaimed.

"Look at you fools," Madam Shan said. "Are you all trying to dishonour the name of Ishvala?" The scarred man stepped back, stunned.

"Look, he won't try to attack you again. Can you please just let him go now?" the boy asked, his voice rather tight. Ed dropped the man's arm and took his knee off of his back.

"You stood up for me." Ed tugged on his coat to straighten it out. "I don't get it. I always heard that you guys hated Amestrians."

"You think we're any different from the others?" I said. Ed shot me a glare. _That was the wrong thing to say,_ I thought. _Damn._

"Despite the _atrocities_ that your country has committed, I know that not all Amestrians are bad," Madam Shan explained.

"Madam Shan and I were both injured during the civil war," the boy said, and I noticed a scar on his shoulder, pale in contrast to his dark skin. "But then we were saved by these two Amestrian doctors. To be honest, I do hate you."

"Oh, gee, thanks," I said, my sarcasm breaking through.

"But the two of them saved me, and you deserve the same treatment," the boy went on, ignoring my remark.

"Wait a minute," Ed said. "You're not talking about the Rockbells, are you?" _They're legends, _I thought. _Winry's parents are legends. And they're... doctors._ I shuddered at the thought. _Ick, how could a doctor be a legend?_

Madam Shan and the boy gasped with recognition. "Are you saying you were a friend of Doctor Rockbell?" the boy asked.

"U-uh, yeah," Ed said.

"They save the lives of countless Ishvalans, all throughout the course of the entire war."

"No kidding," Ed said, surprised. "They were like an aunt and uncle to me."

"They refused to abandon their post," Madam Shan said. "It didn't matter how much the fighting escalated."

Ed's face saddened. "How did... how did they die?"

"They were killed," Madam Shan said, both her and the boy's faces ashen. "They were both murdered in cold blood. And it was by the hand of an Ishvalan they'd saved!"

Ed gasped, his face torn between anger and sadness. "But that's so..."

"I'm so sorry," Madam Shan rasped. "There was nothing we could do to stop him."

"Tell me who did it!" Ed was yelling now, absolutely furious.

"His face was wrapped in bandages." Madam Shan looked at the ground. "But he was an Ishvalan monk and his right arm was tattooed."

Ed's fists clenched. "Thank you," he said after a long while of being quiet. "Thank you for telling me."

"If you should have the chance, would you deliver a message to the resting place of the Rockbells for us?" Madam Shan requested. "Give them our thanks. And our apologies." Ed just nodded and turned to leave. The Ishvalans gathered silently behind us and watched us leave. I took one quick look back at them and followed Ed off. We walked until we reached the edge of the ruins, but we were still high up. The sun was turning everything gold, and Ed's hair almost seemed liquid because of the light.

_All right,_ I thought. _Let's try this again. For the _third_ time... _"Ed, I have a question."

The alchemist looked back at me, the anger in his eyes smothered a bit. "What is it?"

"What were you doing in Lab Five?" I asked, trying to keep the accusation out of my voice. "I need to know, Ed. You have to tell me." He was silent for a while, thinking over his answer. I stared at him impatiently. He finally took in a breath after what seemed like forever.

"Al and I went to the Lab because we thought we had a lead on the Philosopher's Stone. Al wasn't big enough to fit inside, so I went through a vent instead. I found a room with a transmutation on the floor, like the one we saw earlier. As I was investigating, a suit of armour, like Al, showed up. It turned out to be a pair of serial killers known as the Slicer Brothers. As they were about to kill me, Envy showed up with Lust and killed them before they could do anything. Envy collapsed the building and knocked me out. That's all I can remember."

The shock hit me hard, but I managed to keep my composure. "So, you were the reason they collapsed the building?" My voice was shaking, but I refused to let it break. "You were the reason why Lab Five crumbled?"

Ed looked me right in the eye, trying to find a sign of weakness. "I guess so. Why?"

_As soon as they knew you were in the building, they moved us to Four. That was why they started experimenting on us. That was why they killed _everyone._ Ed's the reason that they did that. Ed's the reason that they..._

_He's the reason that they turned me into _this.

I could feel the wolf in me wanting to get out and rip him to pieces for what he'd done. Even the soul of the hawk was itching to tear into flesh, and I was too. I managed to force the urge down and look him directly in the eye.

"It's your fault." My voice wasn't wavering anymore.

"What's my fault?"

"They moved us to Four. They started experimenting. They killed the others. And it's all your fault, Edward Elric. You turned me into this. You're the reason why all of the other Subjects are dead, and you're the reason why I'm like this."

* * *

><p><strong>OOH, CLIFFY OF DOOOOOOOM.<strong>

**I love Armstrong. So much. You have no idea. "OHOHO! LIEUTENANT ROSS! THANK THE HEAVENS!" etc. etc.**

**So, that's this chapter. ...Yeah. About the wolf thing, that would be the fault of the book "Raised by Wolves," which is fantastic, by the way. If you're looking for a new book, READ IT! That, and the Iron Fey series. I'm doing the Iron Queen for my novel study project and almost started crying in front of my entire class today when I finished it. It's depressing at the end.**

**...Yep, that's all I can think of. Au revoir, readers!**

**Do you see it? DO YOU SEE IT? That hyperlink. Yeah, that's Lan Fan, dressed in blue. She's got Ling with her. Click it, and you will win a meal with Ling! ... Make sure he doesn't eat everything... -.-''**

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	14. All Before the Grave

**This chapter contains 11 pages and 6592 words!**

**Hey everybody! I'm REALLY sorry for the late update. I've been really busy with school and SIX HOUR ULTIMATE FRISBEE TOURNAMENTS and homework and such. Thank you for being patient and not screaming at me. I love you gusy.**

**I'll try to keep my authour's notes to a minimum, as they have been quite long.**

**Okay, I know that by the end of this chapter, I will achieve my 100th review. THANK YOU GUYS, SO MUCH! I love all my readers (love ALL the readers!), and I try to respond to each and every review. Your feedback is much needed and I really appreciate it. On that note, I've decided that I'll let my 100th reviewer choose what they want (originally it was going to be a oneshot or something) from me. No money, and I won't give you my name.**

**Just a warning: this chapter covers a LOT of time.**

**Disclaimer: I'm AWESOME *no I'm not dude, don't lie* I'm AWESOME *writin' fanfics in my spare time!* I'm AWESOME! *quarter of my life gone by, and I still don't own it.***

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><p>Ed stared at me in stunned silence, as if he couldn't believe I had just accused him of the deaths of eleven people. I waited for him to speak, trying not to get extremely pissed at him. I knew that when they collapsed Lab Five, Ed didn't intend for it to happen. But it was just so infuriating that it was his fault.<p>

"I've been travelling with you for a long time now, and you didn't say anything about it," I said, trying to keep from screaming at him. "What was going through your head? Huh? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Louise, I swear I didn't mean to-"

"I understand that," I said, any control over my voice gone. "But _why didn't you tell me?_"

"You could at least let me speak before you go on a rant!" Ed snapped, and I silenced myself. I tapped my foot impatiently and crossed my arms, waiting for him to start talking. "I didn't tell you because I thought you'd hate me and Al for it. Then you'd go off on your own and have no one to protect you."

"When did I say I needed protecting?" I growled.

"Let me finish," Ed said, getting irritated with my interruptions. "If you had no one to protect you, then you'd do something stupid and die, or worse, get taken back to Lab Four." He held eye contact with me, his glare boring into my head. "I don't like watching people die, Louise. That's what you have to understand." I stepped back towards the edge of the platform we were on.

"Find me when we're leaving," I said, then jumped off. I heard Ed step up to see if I'd died, but I snapped my wings out at the last second and flew deeper into the ruins. I landed after a while and looked around. I had no idea where I was, but I could track Ed by his scent.

_Ed._

Why hadn't he told me? If he knew I was going to fun away, he could have held me back. I might have objected to him touching me in any way, shape, or form, but he still would have kept me from going. He was stubborn enough to at least assure me of that.

In frustration, I punched a broken column so hard that my knuckles scraped and started to bleed. I couldn't stay mad at him. I was done arguing with Edward Elric. Although I may have said otherwise, I was tired of fighting with him. As much fun as it was to make him irritated, it usually blew up in my face. There would be arguments in the future, and several moments where I would tease him, but starting fights with Ed was getting old.

I rested my forehead on the bloody mark where my fist made contact and sighed. _But it was practically his fault that all of them are dead,_ I thought. _I might as well be dead too. But I should've killed him when I had the chance._

_But, he _did_ save my life._

That, I couldn't deny. The day I was sent out to murder him, sure, he wanted to kill me, but he didn't. He took me in for just a little while (probably under the persuasion of Alphonse), and he saved me from going back to the Lab.

I sat down with my back against the column, my wings folded around me like a cocoon. I remembered doing this frequently at the Lab (that Ed saved me from), when I just wanted to be alone and away from the other subjects. It made me feel sheltered and safe from the hell around me. It was like being in the arms of someone dear to me, although I didn't really have anyone dear to me since the others died.

_Since the others died... and it's Ed's fault..._

I shook my head and curled in on myself. I needed to stop blaming him for something he didn't intend to do.

I don't really know how long I sat there. An hour? Two, maybe? By the time someone showed up to collect me, the sun was almost totally down. It was becoming hard to see, but one of the perks of being part wolf is night vision. But, that meant I could see the person who came to get me.

And that person was Major Armstrong.

He didn't look at all surprised to see me. In fact, I think he was tearing up a little.

"OH LOUISE! WHAT A HEART-WRENCHING STORY!" The Major swept me up in a giant hug, and I suddenly found myself unable to breathe. "I CANNOT BELIVE THIS ATROCITY!"

"Major- Major-" I choked. "I- can't- _breathe!_" The Major set me down on the ground and I wheezed for a few seconds.

"HOW COULD THIS GO UNNOTICED?" The Major cried, tears streaming down his face. Then he ripped his shirt off again. "SUCH A TRAGEDY!"

"Major," I muttered, "you can stop now." I ignored the rest of his rant and searched the darkness for Ed. I found him, and shot my best you-are-so-dead/I-will-pry-your-eyes-out-with-a-spoon look. Instead of going up and doing the aforementioned thing with a spoon, I stalked past him and found Lieutenant Breda.

"Ed wasn't joking," he said, a tone of surprise in his voice. "You really are a chimera."

"Nice work, Detective Dumbass!" I said, clapping slowly for him. "Are we leaving?"

Looking a little peeved by my comment, Breda went on, "Yeah. We're going overnight. Darkness should keep us out of the heat."

"Alright. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be flying ahead, since I don't want to be with him-" I pointed at the Major, who was still going on about my "horrendous life story"- "or this ugly bastard." I pointed at Ed, who said nothing. After shooting him another glare, I stalked off, following the scent of the horses. The others were a minute behind me, and they quickly mounted their steeds. I got a running start and took off, circling them overhead like a vulture as I waited for them to start riding.

The air was pleasantly warm from the heat rising off the sand. The air down at walking level was cool, so the others urged their horses into a trot. The horses could go longer without getting hot, so we could move faster.

I'd never flown for that long of a stretch before, so occasionally I dropped to the ground and ran or carried myself on the thermals. Flying on a thermal like that one was quite the experience. I could see the others watching me soar, until I finally slowed down until I was behind them. I didn't like being watched. It was like being...

Examined.

I shuddered and ignored any Lab-related thoughts.

We kept going well into the night, and right into the morning. As soon as the sun was twice it's width above the horizon, I could feel things heating up. I had to drop low to get the last of the cooler air before everything became smouldering. I could hear Ed grumbling about his automail even with the wind in my ears, and I almost dropped down and kicked him in the head.

When the sun was almost at its peak, we crossed back into Amestris. The sand slowly changed into grass and it became much cooler. I could see all of the countryside and mountains, and I longed to just fly forever.

_Maybe this is where I was from,_ I thought. _Maybe my family lived here before the Lab._

As soon as I saw a farmhouse, I dropped out of the sky and started walking up behind the horses. They had slowed down from their trot, so they were easy to keep up with. Eventually, we pulled to a stop in front of the stables we got the steeds from and put them in their rightful stalls. I took the gear off the horses in silence, ignoring any questions from Breda (or any attempts to break my spine from Major Armstrong).

There was a wagon waiting for us when we returned outside. We crammed ourselves into the cart thing, Armstrong sparing us no room. I was crammed between the large man and Breda, while Ed got a spot on the other side. Occasionally, he would look over and smirk at me, and I would glare right back.

We finally arrived at the train station and bundled ourselves out of the cart. Breda tripped on his way out and I stepped gracefully out behind him. I could hear Ed snicker as he fell. Major Armstrong hustled over to help him up.

"We'll be returning to Central from here," the Major told us.

"All right," Ed said. "I'm going to get this repaired at Granny's before heading back." Ed held up his mechanical arm and pointed at it.

"Hm, that's right," the Major rumbled.

"It's actually broken?" I looked at Ed's automail, which seemed to be in peak condition. _It must be something on the inside._

"See you," Ed said, turning and waving. The two military soldiers saluted us and I followed the Fullmetal Alchemist.

We walked silently. I stayed a step behind Ed, walking behind his shoulder like his "right hand man" or something. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and tipped his head up slightly. Occasionally, his eyes would flick back to me for a second. I didn't do anything.

"Oh," Ed said suddenly.

"What?" I questioned.

"I should stop by Doctor Rockbell's grave," he said.

"Oh, yeah, cause that old Ishvalan lady asked you to deliver a message," I said thoughtfully. "I guess we should honour her request or whatever."

"You don't take life seriously enough," Ed muttered.

"I don't need to." I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm free to do whatever the hell I want. I don't have to be serious about anything."

"Yeah... I guess that's true." Ed adjusted his cloak, which he kept tucked under his arm. Up ahead, I could see a faint line moving over the horizon. I caught a smell on the air and my mouth started to water.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Sheep," Ed replied. "Resembool is famous for its sheep farming. There's a festival every year in the spring for it."

"I wouldn't mind going to that," I said. _Don't let the wolf take over,_ I reminded myself. _You're not that weak._ We marched up to the line of moving sheep and waited for them to pass. After that, we kept walking until we came across a cemetery. The faint smell of decay reached me, but it wasn't too bad. The thing I was focused on was the man standing in front of a grave. He was tall and broad shouldered, a brown trench coat billowing in the wind. He had long golden hair tied back into a ponytail like Ed's and a suitcase rested at his feet.

Just looking at him made my skin crawl.

I don't know what it was, but something about him didn't agree with me. It was like my soul was writhing around, trying to get away from him. He seemed somewhat familiar, though. I felt like I'd seen him somewhere before, but I couldn't place his appearance. I shrank back a few steps, while Ed stayed still, his body gone rigid.

The man must have heard us, for he turned around and looked back. His face was so sorrowful that I almost felt sorry for him. The lines in his face were etched deeply into his skin, showing year of grief and sadness. Square spectacles were perched on the end of his nose, framing golden eyes. Ed sucked in a breath.

"Hohenhiem," he said, his voice going up at the end as if in question.

"Hello, Edward," the man called Hohenhiem said, his voice calm. "You appear to have grown some." _Yet another comment about his height,_ I thought devilishly. _Even if this guy creeps me out, I like him. That much I've already decided._

Ed turned away from Hohenhiem, his teeth gritted in anger.

"I spoke with Pinako," Hohenhiem went on. "You tried human transmutation." Ed looked up, his eyes wide, but he covered it up quickly.

"What makes you think you can show up like this?" Ed questioned, his voice flat. "There's nothing left for you here anymore!"

"I noticed." Ed's shoulders, which he had scrunched together, dropped suddenly. I raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, Edward. What possessed you to burn down my home?"

Ed looked down at the ground, his face slightly guilty. "After what happened, we vowed to never turn back. We did it as a symbol of our resolve."

"No you didn't." Hohenhiem spoke immediately, almost with the tone of a father scolding his child. "You were hiding the memory." Ed's face was stricken now. "You didn't want to be reminded of what you've done, and thought you could erase the memory by destroying the evidence." Hohenhiem walked up to Ed, casting a huge looming shadow over him and me. This guy was _tall._ Taller than I'd first expected.

Ed paused for a moment. I'd never seen anyone (besides me) who was able to twist his arm so easily. Even from behind him, I could see the conflicted emotion in his eyes. "You're wrong!"

"It's just like a child who hides the sheets after he wets the bed. You ran away," Hohenhiem said simply, "and you know it."

Ed was silent for a while. I could hear his breath shaking. "You don't know a damn thing!" he yelled. "You make me sick. To my stomach!" He turned and started to walk away. "Let's go, Louise."

"Yes, sir," I muttered. I turned my back, catching one last look of this Hohenhiem guy. He locked gazes with me, and I shuddered slightly. Those eyes were familiar, and not just because they were the same as Ed's.

"He's just like I was when I was his age," Hohenhiem said, almost to me. I picked up my pace and caught up to Ed.

"Who was that?" I asked. Ed muttered something incomprehensible. "Ed_ward._"

"My dad," he grumbled. "My good-for-nothing, lame-ass dad."

"No wonder you two look so much alike," I said thoughtfully.

"I don't look a thing like him!" Ed exploded, turning on me. "You got that?"

"Alright, alright!" I waved him away from me and we kept walking. "Sheesh, you don't need to get so hyped up. You're lucky you even have a dad."

"I'm not lucky!" he shouted, stopping and turning on me again. "There are people out there who have dads who actually hang around! Dads who don't ditch their families and let their wives die! Dads who-" He stuttered to a halt when he saw the hurt look on my face. "I... I'm sorry..."

"No, it's alright." It took all or my willpower to not call him something incredibly rude. _At least he took note that I don't _have_ a dad to ditch me and leave his wife to die._ "Just keep walking." I smiled softly as he turned his back to me. "You're such an idiot, Ed."

A sharp little intake of breath, but no reply.

After a bit, we arrived at a large yellow farmhouse. It had two floors and a massive porch. There was a black and white dog with an... _automail leg_ resting on the front steps. Its head perked up when it saw us and it started barking.

"Yes, yes, Den, I know Hohenhiem is back," a raspy old voice muttered, pushing open the door. Out stepped the living incarnate of the phrase "little old lady." This woman was small with rust coloured hair pulled back into a ponytail that stuck up like a broom handle. She had circular, wire-rimmed glasses on, a large nose protruding out of her face. She was stout, shorter than me, even, which is saying a lot. The dog bounded up to us, sniffing me curiously. "Oh, Ed! Back so soon?"

"Yeah," Ed muttered. "Had a little bit of an incident and had to come back here. My automail is a bit damaged."

"Ech." The old lady made a displeased sound. "And who's this? Did you finally bring a girlfriend home?"

I sighed, trying to keep the irritation to a minimum. "I'm Louise, and I'm not his girlfriend. I met Ed in Central a while back. Been travelling with him since."

"Well, Louise, nice to meet you." She walked up to us and stuck out a hand. "I'm Pinako Rockbell, Winry's grandmother."

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Rockbell." I shook the hand, rough and callused from work.

"Just call me Pinako. Or Granny, if you'd like."

_Granny?_ I thought. _I've never had a "Granny" before. That's nice._

Pinako sighed. "Well, come in, then. We might as well get started on the repairs." She beckoned us inside and we sat down in a cheery little kitchen. I plopped down on the couch and Den the dog curled up beside me. I scratched her between the ears and watched as Pinako examined Ed's arm.

"So, Louise, where are you from?" she asked as she fiddled with a screw.

"Central," I replied on cue. "I was just walking down the street when I got thrown into the whole mess with Ed and Al."

"That happens," Pinako sympathized. "Den seems to like you."

"I love animals," I said with a shrug. "Dogs just seem to love me, though. It's kind of weird." Den rolled over and I scratched her belly. It was quiet after that. The only sound was the occasional squeak as Pinako fussed with Ed's automail. Ed would sigh sometimes and look bored. I amused myself with playing with Den.

"We'll just have to do the repairs tomorrow," Pinako said finally. "It's getting late. I'll start on dinner."

"Okay," Ed said. He stood up and rotated his shoulder as Pinako left to go make something to eat.

"What now?" I asked.

"I'm going to go find something to do," Ed said.

"I guess I'll come along," I said. I stood up and followed Ed down a hallway, Den trotting along behind me. We turned a corner and walked into a room filled with books. Ed plunked down in a chair in the middle of the room.

"Wow," I observed. "It's like a library in here."

"It's mostly medical stuff," Ed said with a shrug.

"I've suddenly lost my interest." I sniffed, wrinkling my nose. I sat down on the floor and Den sniffed my face. I carefully moved her head away. "So... your dad. What exactly did he..."

Ed's face darkened. "He left when me and Al were just little kids. We don't know where he went. A while after that, Mom died. And here he is... just, showing up at the most random of times. I really don't know what to make of it."

"You sure do know what to make of it," I said. "You don't like it. It's pretty obvious that you hate your dad, Ed." He had nothing to say to that.

A while later, Pinako called us for dinner. She made some kind of meaty stew with vegetables that smelled really good. I scarfed it down quickly, the carnivorous instincts kicking in. Ed still beat me at finishing it, but it didn't matter to me. With a full belly and a long few days behind me, I realized how tired I was. It wasn't very late, but I could see Ed's eyelids drooping slightly.

"I'm going to bed," I announced as I put my plate in the sink. "If I can find one."

"There are two bedrooms just down the hall, dear," Pinako said absently. "Ed, show her where one is. I'll get you some of Winry's old clothes. I'm sure they'll fit." She flicked the tap on the sink and started filling it up with water. Then, she marched off to go find said clothes.

"Well?" I said expectantly. Ed started walking. We took a few steps down the hall and Ed pointed to his right.

"That'll be your room," he said. "This one is mine." He pointed left. "Granny'll be back with some pyjamas for you in a minute. I'm going to go change." He walked into his own room and closed the door, leaving me standing awkwardly in the hall. I heard him shuffling around in his room, and I sighed.

_Well, he _did _say to speak up when I had something on my mind..._

I rapped once on the door and prayed he didn't have his pants of when I pushed it open. He was in some boxers and just lifting his shirt over his head. I caught another glimpse of his (not sexy, _not sexy_) abs and felt my cheeks redden slightly.

He jumped. "What do you want?"

"Don't worry about your dad, alright?" I said. "G'night." I closed the door and leaned against it with a sigh. Pinako walked up a minute later, handing me some baggy pants and a tank top.

"Here," she said. "These should fit. Have a good sleep." She turned around, but stopped midway. "Just put your laundry outside your room when you're done with it. I'll grab it later."

"Thanks," I said. I stepped into my room and started pulling off my windblown, sand-filled, sweaty clothes. I was pulling at the hem of my shirt when there was a knock on my door. I sighed and kept a firm grip on it (the shirt was a bugger to get off- it was so tight).

"Yeah?" I asked. I was surprised to see Ed at the door instead of Pinako, but kept it to myself.

"Promise me you won't fly out the window and do something stupid," Ed commanded. I sighed loudly and held up a hand.

"I, Louise-Twelve, solemnly swear that I won't fly out the window and get mauled by sheep. Is that good enough?" I asked. He snickered.

"And you call me the idiot." He closed the door after that and I resumed changing. I placed my clothes outside, flicked the light off, and tried to go to sleep.

I was just drifting off a couple of hours later when my skin started to itch. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. _Hohenhiem must be back,_ I thought. _Damn it, I won't be able to sleep with him in the house. _I heard him walk down the hall and open the door to Ed's room. He stayed there for a few moments, then left and started talking with Pinako. They were talking for a while, and their conversation was muffled through the wall. I grew impatient, until I finally stood up and walked into Ed's room.

"Alright, let's go," I said, leaning against the door frame.

"Go what?" Ed asked, bewildered.

I sighed. "Spy on them, idiot! I'm tired of listening through the wall. I can't understand anything!"

"Why would I want to spy on that bastard?"

"Because he's your _dad._" I rolled my eyes and grabbed his upper arm. "Come on." He sighed and followed me (well, I dragged him, but whatever) out into the hall. We smashed ourselves against the wall and listened carefully. Ed's hair kept tickling my nose, but I refrained from sneezing.

"...about you to the very end," Pinako said. Den padded up to us, almost blowing our cover. _She must have smelled me,_ I thought. _Dumb dog. _

"Pinako," Hohenhiem said calmly.

"Hm?"

"The life form my sons transmuted," Hohenhiem went on, "are you positive that it was Trisha?" I felt Ed stiffen.

"Huh? Well I wouldn't-It didn't even look human to me, so I wouldn't think of it as-"

"No. That's not what I'm asking." Hohenhiem paused. "Did you notice the eye colour? Or the hair colour?"

"Eh? What are you trying to get at?" Pinako's voice went flat at the end. "Are you telling me that that wasn't even Trisha? For all that those boys sacrificed, you're saying that _thing_ they created wasn't even their mother?" Ed was trembling. I could feel his whole body shaking with disbelief.

"He knows we're here," I muttered. I grabbed Ed's arm, trying to snap him out of his stupor. "Come on, Ed. Wake up." He was still shaking, so I dug my nails into his skin. "Wake up, Edward," I whispered harshly.

"He has to be lying," Ed whispered. "He_ has _to be. If it was- If it wasn't mom, then-" He sighed and cut himself off. "Go back to bed, Louise."

"You really think I can sleep now?" One corner of my mouth twitched upward. "I won't be getting any rest with 'Daddy' in the house, thank you very much."

"What about him could possibly bother you?" Ed muttered sarcastically.

"I don't know, but there's something about him that makes me _itch._" I shook my shoulders, trying to push away the returning feeling. "And he looks familiar."

Ed didn't say anything, but I could see a thought formulating in his eyes. He sighed again. "If you're not going to sleep, then at least go back to your room."

"Alright, O Mighty Fullmetal Alchemist," I muttered. "Good night."

"Night," Ed said. I walked with ninja-like stealth through the dark and back to my room. Ed hadn't moved by the time I closed the door. I walked around my room for the remainder of the night, trying to wear myself down, but the presence of Hohenhiem was still making me jumpy.

Finally, sometime after dawn, I got up and wandered out into the kitchen. Pinako and Hohenhiem had left some time ago, leaving an almost empty wine bottle and a photo album. I plunked down at the table and grabbed the thick book, beginning to flip through it.

There were many pictures of Ed, Al (he was _adorable!_), and Winry as kids. There was a woman with long brown hair in many of the pictures as well, and I assumed she was Trisha Elric. Two other people, both of them blonde, were seen in a picture with a young Winry. I guessed that they were her parents. As I got further into the photo album, Trisha and Winry's parents started to disappear and were replaced with pictures of Ed, Al, Winry, and Pinako. At one point, Ed was on his back, asleep, a thin trail of drool coming from his open mouth. He had one hand under his shirt, exposing a thin strip of skin (not sexy, _not sexy_). I smiled and flipped to the next page.

"Good morning." The hairs on the back of my neck rose at the sound of the calm voice. _Hohenhiem,_ I thought as he sat down across from me.

"I never caught your name," he said, looking at me. We made eye contact, and I quickly looked away.

"Louise," I said. "My name is Louise."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Louise. I'm Van Hohenhiem, Ed and Al's father."

"Nice to meet you," I mumbled.

Awkward silence.

I kept thumbing through the photo album, trying to avoid talking. Hohenhiem repeatedly read the labels on the wine bottles to keep himself distracted. More than once, I opened my mouth to start a conversation, but couldn't bring myself to do it.

"So, you're Ed and Al's dad," I blurted finally.

"Yes I am," he replied, looking up from the wine bottle.

"Where did you go?" I asked suddenly. "I mean, when you left the family."

Hohenhiem's face darkened. "I went to do some research abroad. I got... caught up in some things."

"Oh," I said. I knew he wasn't telling the truth, but I decided not to ask any further.

"I hear you're from Central." He lowered his gaze, meeting my eyes again. I didn't look away this time.

"Indeed I am," I replied. "It's a nice place. A lot more crowded than Resembool, though. "

"That's a coincidence. I'm heading off to Central today," he said nonchalantly. "If you'd like, I can deliver a message to your family."

"My family?" My eyebrows shot up. "Heh, I ran away from home when I was little. Just didn't like 'em. Now I live in an apartment by myself." _Good save._

"That's unfortunate." Hohenhiem shook his head. "Where do you live now?"

"Near the outskirts of the city. It's not much, but its home." I shrugged.

"Oh, Louise, you're up." Pinako's raspy old voice broke into our conversation and I almost sighed with relief. "Where's Ed?"

"Still sleeping," I replied. "That boy is like a log."

Pinako smirked. "I know." She walked over to the stove and picked up a discarded wrench. "I might as well get started on breakfast, since you two are up."

"I won't be needing breakfast, Pinako." Hohenhiem stood up. "I'm on my way out."

"So soon?"

"So early?" I asked. Then I noticed the sunlight streaming in through the windows, peeking out between rainclouds. "Oh. Looks like I've been out here for a while."

Pinako sighed. "Ed! Get out of bed already! Your father's about to head out!" I could practically hear him muttering "Thank goodness." Hohenhiem picked up his suitcase and walked over to a bulletin board, where several pictures were posted. He scanned them for a second.

"This one." He grabbed the edge of a picture containing Trisha holding a baby Alphonse and himself holding Ed. "Do you mind if I keep it? It's the only photo we had taken of all four of us."

"Of course. You're welcome to it," Pinako replied.

"Thank you." Hohenhiem's tone was emotionless, but I could tell there was a deep gratitude somewhere in there. He pulled it off the bulletin board and stuffed it in a pocket on his trench coat.

"What's taking that boy so long?" Pinako asked, looking towards the hall. "Would you mind getting him up?"

"No problem," I said, standing up. I padded over to Ed's room and rapped a couple times on the door. "Eeedwaaaard. Time to get up." I pushed the door open and took a couple of steps inside. Ed was still lying down, one arm flung over his eyes. I sighed. "Come on, you lazy bum. Wake up!"

"Is he gone?" Ed asked.

"No, not yet, but-" I caught a glimpse of a figure walking away from the house out the window. "Oh. I guess that's him." Ed sat up and stared at his father until he became a tiny speck in the distance. When Van Hohenhiem's form disappeared over a rise, Ed sighed.

"Let's go," he muttered. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. I wordlessly followed him out the door. Pinako was making breakfast in the kitchen when we sat down at the table.

"Are you alright?" I asked Ed quietly. He nodded.

"Yeah, it's just..." he trailed off and pushed his bangs off his face.

"Just what, Elric?" I smirked, trying to lighten the mood. "Are you _worried_ about something? 'Cause I never thought a cold, heartless guy like you could ever fret about anything."

He didn't reply, and I shrunk down into my seat.

There was definitely something wrong with Edward Elric.

When Pinako brought breakfast to the table (the freaking fluffiest pancakes I've ever seen), Ed just pushed his food around his plate. I ate mine as slowly as I could, watching as he "thought over the meaning of the universe." Pinako wasn't saying anything, and I decided not to pipe up either.

"Granny," Ed said suddenly. We both looked up (although I was pretty sure _I _wasn't the one being referred to as "Granny"). "You don't have to repair my automail today."

And why not?" Pinako said gruffly.

Ed took in a deep breath. "I want to go dig up the thing we transmuted."

Not a word.

"Well, I suppose that's all right." Pinako grabbed her plate and stood up. "I'm going to go and change. You two put your plates in the sink when you're done." She put her dish away and hurried off, stubby little legs moving at light speed. I looked down and returned to my food.

"So," I said, "we're going to dig up a carcass today? That's our plan?" Ed nodded. "Don't let what Hohenhiem said get to you, Ed. I'm sure he was just trying to mess with your head."

"No." Ed set his fork down and looked up at me. "I think he's right. I don't really remember much of what happened that day, but he had a point."

"It's your decision," I said. I picked up my plate and stood. "I'm going to go have a shower, if you'll kindly point me to where the bathroom is."

"There's no point," Ed said, looking out the window at the overcast sky. "It's going to rain."

"It'll pass."

"No, it won't. I can feel it." His hand fisted in his shirt, right where his automail met his skin. He suddenly grimaced, and I put my plate back down.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's nothing," Ed muttered. "Just a thing."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I know when something's wrong, Ed. You don't have to think of yourself as a burden and not tell me about it."

"I can deal with this myself. It comes with the job."

"It's your automail, isn't it? It's hurting you," I concluded. His face darkened.

"Go get changed. I'm pretty sure there are some of Winry's old clothes in the chest over there." He tilted his head to a wooden chest across the room. I didn't bother trying to get him to talk, for it would be like negotiating with a brick wall. I dropped my plate in the sink and fished out some pants and a loose T-shirt from the chest. I retreated to my room to change and catch a few minutes of sleep. Now that Hohenhiem was gone, it was easy to crash.

A knock on my door and a creak of the hinges startled me awake. "We're leaving," Ed said.

"'Kay," I muttered. I grabbed my jacked and slipped it on, then followed Ed outside. Pinako was waiting there with a bucket, and two shovels rested against the railing of the stairs.

We started out trek to the former Elric residence with the clouds looming threateningly over us and the wind whipping our hair about. We marched up a hill, marked by a charred tree, and stepped up to the ruins of a house. Some of the foundations were still there, but most of it had been burned to long gone ashes. We separated and I twirled my shovel.

"You're not really going to dig it up, are you Ed?" Pinako asked. Ed grunted and doubled over, clutching his shirt in the same spot as before. "Why don't we go back?"

Ed looked up, a bead of sweat trailing down his face. "No." He looked up at the sky. "My stumps are aching from the weather. It's about to rain. Let's just hurry and do this." I raised my eyebrows and jammed my shovel into the dirt.

We dug and dug for a while, until it started raining. It was just a couple of drops at first, but soon it turned into a full out downpour. Ed kept digging as the rain started, but he quickly fell to his knees and threw up something unpleasant.

"Ed!" Pinako cried. "Don't push yourself!" She knelt down behind him and started kneading her fists in his back, trying some method for soothing the pain he was having.

I crouched down beside him and looked him in the eye the best I could. "We really should stop, Ed. You're going to hurt yourself."

"Let's head on home," Pinako agreed.

"No," Ed said, his voice slightly slurred. He reached for the handle of his shovel. "I'm not going to be able to move forward until I know for sure. Besides, I won't run away from this!"

The rain grew heavier, and we continued to dig. The rain pounded down hard on our backs, but we didn't stop. Ed was plunging his shovel into the ground with fierce determination. His face was hidden by his hair, but his teeth were gritted. He wasn't giving up, and neither was I.

A few times, Ed would stop, walk over to the burned tree, and throw up. It got worse each time, but he wasn't stopping. Pinako and I tried a few times to get him to stop digging, but he always disagreed. Eventually, we just stopped trying.

After a while, Pinako and I just stopped digging. We weren't successful at finding anything, but Ed was going to keep searching. We watched him chuck dirt away from a large hole for a long time, standing in the rain and looking over him worriedly. He still didn't stop.

The rain eventually passed over us, the last drops plinking into Pinako's now full bucket. I sat on the ground, not really caring how much it would look like I had an accident in my pants when I stood up, and continued to watch Ed. Suddenly, he tossed his shovel away and dropped down to his knees. He scraped furiously at the hole with his hands until he finally came to grasp something. He picked it up and ran over to the bucket, dunking whatever he had into the water and shaking it to get the dirt off. He placed the object in his hand and looked at it for a moment before turning back to us.

"Granny?" His voice was raspy, agonized, almost. "Mom's hair was a light chestnut colour." He held up the thing he was holding, and it was a clump of hair. His voice shook like a massive earthquake. I stood up abruptly to get a better look. "This is black."

We continued digging for another long while until we uncovered the remains of a cobbled-together skeleton. The bones looked like they had been taken from several different people and smashed together into one. Pinako took out a tape measure and began using it for its intended purpose.

"This femur, it's much too long," she said. She picked up a large, lumpy bone. "And this pelvis? Pretty sure it's male."

"It is?" Ed's voice was thick with disbelief.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid this isn't your mother, Ed." Pinako stood up, her eyes flashing under her glasses. Ed let out a pained noise and dropped onto all fours, sending muddy water flying everywhere.

And he started laughing.

Chuckling, at first, until it became a full blown, maniacal cackle. I stepped away, fearing for his sanity as he threw his head back and laughed at the sky.

"U-uh, are you okay, Ed?" I stammered.

His shoulders sank. "Then that's it. It really is impossible to bring the dead back to life. The undeniable truth." He buried his face in his hands, a little smile on his face as he ranted. "It was impossible all along!" He bent over and chuckled again.

"Edward," Pinako said, crouching down beside him and putting a hand on his back. "Now listen to me. You've got to get a hold of yourself."

Ed let out a breath and his hands dropped to his sides. "I'm okay, Granny." _That's a relief. _"It's okay. From the moment I made this thing, it's been a symbol of my despair. But not anymore. Now it's an emblem of hope." He raised his head, his eyes fierce.

"Al can be returned to normal."

We grabbed a brick from the ruins of the house and buried the skeleton again. The brick became a headstone for whatever poor creature Ed and Al brought from the other side of the gate. Pinako went down the hill and picked some flowers. We had a moment of silence for it (which had to be explained to me, since I didn't really understand it), then went down the hill. Ed was oddly silent, his lips quirked up slightly at the edges.

"So, what now?" I asked him.

"We're going back to Central," Ed said. "I've got to tell Al about this."

"'We'? What do you mean, 'we'?"

"You're not coming?" He looked up at me, bewildered. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was...

Sad.

I broke into a grin. "Of course I'm coming! I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

He exhaled. "That's good. Al and Winry would be worried." I smiled and kept walking.

We arrived back at the house and changed out of our rain-soaked clothes. Ed went off to make a phone call, and I holed myself up in my room with Den and a big fat book. Ed poked his head in after a bit and said he and Pinako were going to the cemetery. I declined his offer to go, wanting to stay inside and get warm. He shrugged and walked off.

They returned shortly after, and Ed announced that we were leaving for Central. I grabbed my clothes and was about to go change into them when Pinako just said I could keep Winry's old ones. She wouldn't be needing them anymore.

"Heading back to Central already, are you?" Pinako asked as we stood at the bottom of the steps.

"Yeah," Ed said. "Al's probably mad at me. I've got plenty of explaining to do."

"You two be careful," Pinako advised. "Don't get yourselves into any trouble."

"That's kind of difficult to abide by with him," I joked.

"I suppose it is," Pinako said. "Take care. Come back and visit once in a while, alright?"

"Alright, Granny."

"Thank you for everything," I said.

"No problem. Keep him together for me."

I smiled and followed Ed into the sunset.

* * *

><p><strong>What say you, readers?<strong>

**The cobbled-together skeleton thing was a reference to "Cobbled-together Envy." Haha, I'm so good. XD**

**I'm going away on a school trip next week, so I won't have any time to write. I will write as much as I possibly can this weekend (and hopefully update!) but I can't guarantee another chapter. **

**Alright, now time for the shameless advertising, because I can. My friend fright light (no caps; that's her pen name) has posted a Soul Eater story! I know some of you watch Soul Eater (I was watching the episode I took dialogue from and Shou Tucker showed up and I went "WTH is Stien doing in FMA? ...Wait, they have the same voice actor), so please read and support her! She's kinda new to the whole fanfiction thing.**

**Happy early Thanksgiving to all you Canadians! And happy REALLY early Thanksgiving to all you Americans! And happy other random holiday that my readers from all over the world celebrate (that's right, I know where you're from. Don't worry, I'm not a stalker).**

**See that hyperlink? Yeah, that one. ...Just click it. I've run out of creative ways to make you guys review.**

**\/**


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